Lady and the Tramp
by CelticMagic
Summary: Mimi's cousin comes to visit, and the usually confident Mimi is at her wit's end. Her childhood fears get the best of her as she worries that her cousin will steal away her friends and her sweetheart. Contains some Koumi, some expected couplings, other unexpected couplings. Talk about drama!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Honey, did you vacuum the couch?"

"Yes, Mom! I've done it five times today," Mimi called out from the living room. She could only smile and shake her head. Mimi's cousin was going to be staying over for a week and Mrs. Tachikawa had been nervously running around for the past several weeks in preparation. To be honest, the whole Tachikawa residence was a bit anxious about her arrival, but each member of the family took a slightly different approach to it.

"Don't tell your mother," Mr. Tachikawa winked at Mimi as he cracked open a can of beer. Mimi simply nodded and pressed her finger to her lips.

"That better not be a beer I hear you drinking!" Mrs. Tachikawa yelled from the bathroom.

"Shit," Mr. Tachikawa whispered. Mimi simply stared at him. "No, honey! It's just a soda!" he fibbed. "Anyways, since I just took the last can, I'm going to swing by the convenience store to get some more soda!"

"Okay! Whatever you do, don't get orange soda. Nicole hates that flavor," Mrs. Tachikawa yelled. "Oh, and get some of those cheesy twists she loves so much!"

"Anything else?" Mr. Tachikawa sipped at his beer.

"Nope, not that I can think of. If anything, I'll call you!"

"Alright! I'm out!" Mr. Tachikawa said before he left the apartment.

Mimi sighed as she wiped the remote control with a disinfectant wipe. Even though she knew her parents loved her, she couldn't help but feel they liked her cousin more. Ever since they were little, Mimi and Nicole were always competing with each other (not that Mimi wanted to compete in the first place; she was never a competitive person to begin with). While Nicole excelled in everything athletic, Mimi struggled to walk in a straight line most of the time. It was no secret that Mimi was...well, uncoordinated. She almost didn't get to go to kindergarten because she couldn't catch a ball. Meanwhile, her cousin was constantly winning first place trophies for her Little League team. Then there was the age difference. Nicole never let Mimi forget that she was three months older than her, and therefore that gave Nicole license to treat Mimi like a baby. Mimi lost track of the numerous times that Nicole belittled her in front of her peers for that reason alone. It seemed like no matter what Mimi did, Nicole did better. Sure, people thought Mimi was spoiled with the amount of clothes and toys she had, but compared to all of the possessions Nicole had, Mimi looked not as spoiled anymore. Nicole could get anything she wanted, whenever she wanted. On the other hand, Mimi had to earn what she wanted through good behaviour. And although Mimi tried to be friendly to everyone, Nicole always had more friends. That always perplexed Mimi, considering the fact that Nicole was always mean to everyone.

The only time Mimi had advantage over her cousin over was when anything creative was involved. Mimi could spend hours drawing, singing, playing pretend or dress-up, and the like. Nicole couldn't imagine her way out of a paper bag. Because of her creativity, Mimi was surprisingly good in Literature. She could spend hours with her nose in a fantasy book, and her teachers were impressed. Her classmates, on the other hand, called her insulting names and it didn't help that Nicole contributed to at least half of the name calling. Hurt by this, Mimi tried to tell her parents but they told her she was being too sensitive. Nicole managed to ruin the only school thing Mimi was good at. She began to focus more on her appearance, and started to have a passion for fashion (something Nicole never gave a rat's ass about). Immediately, everyone wanted to be Mimi's friend. Mimi knew better though; these kids only wanted to be her friend because of her looks or because of her stuff. She found this out when she overheard some of her "best friends" talking badly about her. Not surprisingly, Nicole was in the middle of the conversation. It wasn't until her adventures in the Digital World that Mimi made friends who liked her for what was inside. Thanks to the gang, especially Sora, Mimi started to feel more comfortable about herself again.

Needless to say, not all of her memories with Nicole were horrible or painful. They had their share of fun, happy times. It was when the two girls worked together with their strengths that they enjoyed each other's company. In general, Mimi had a love-hate relationship with her cousin. As much as she dreaded Nicole's visit, she couldn't help but to feel excited at the same time. She hadn't seen her cousin in several years, and she was curious to see what she looked like now.

_Don't stress so much about i_t, Mimi told herself. _You have an awesome group of friends, a super smart, handsome boyfriend who treats you like a princess, a cool (paid) internship, and you're getting A's and B's in all of your classes. You're a lucky girl! That reminds me, I need to stop by my Izzy's job to see how he's doing. I miss him soooo much!_

"Mimi! Can you get the door? I can't let Nicole see me like this!" Mrs. Tachikawa dashed to her bedroom to change.

"Okay," Mimi walked to the door and opened it.

"It's about time," Nicole scoffed. She had piles of designer suitcases at her feet. "For a second, I thought nobody lived here anymore. Hullo? Are you gonna let me in, or are you just gonna let me stand out here?"

"Right, come on in!" Mimi laughed nervously.

"One thing about you hasn't changed. You're still weird," Nicole nudged Mimi aside as she made her way inside the apartment. Nicole took off her designer sunglasses to examine the apartment. "Hmmm... cute in a kitschy kind of way," she wrinkled her nose in dissastisfaction. She then turned her head to a gawking Mimi. "Feel free to take my luggage in. I hope you don't treat all your guests like this!"

"Yeah," Mimi said absentmindedly. As she struggled to pull the numerous suitcases inside, Mimi's thoughts went on overload. _This was not supposed to happen like this_!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Hullo? Are you gonna let me in, or are you just gonna let me stand out here?"

"Right, come on in!" Mimi laughed nervously. While Nicole criticized the apartment, Mimi was freaking out on the inside. Nicole was even more beautiful than Mimi remembered. Nicole was always attractive, but her beauty seemed magnified by 1000 now. Her straight, black hair brushed gracefully around her tiny waist, and her blue eyes looked even bluer than ever. Mimi grabbed at her brown, wavy hair and sighed. It seemed like no matter what she did, those waves would never go away.

* * *

"Mimi, I would die for hair like yours," Sora said. "Your hair never looks flat. It's so lush and full of volume!"

"Hmmm," Mimi said as she tried to flatten down her hair with a paddle brush. "At least you never have to worry about your hair being poofy! I guess today's another hat day," she sighed and placed her signature pink cowboy hat on her head.

* * *

Even Nicole's body looked like it was sculpted by the gods. Most days, Mimi didn't give a second thought about her thin frame, but standing in front of Nicole only made her realize how skinny and shapeless Mimi was.

* * *

"Don't worry about the other girls. They're just jealous because you naturally have the body of a model!" Mrs. Tachikawa squeezed her daughter's shoulders before she left the dressing room.

"It's true. You can eat all of the ice cream you want without worrying about it going to your thighs," Yolei patted her legs.

"Or elsewhere...," Kari raised her eyebrows.

"I swear, I'll go postal if I have to go bra shopping again," Sora hugged herself.

"I don't know," Mimi was still unconvinced. She glanced at herself in the mirror and winced. She hated bathing suit shopping because it was hard for her to find a flattering bikini.

"See? You look absolutely stunning in that!" Kari said.

"I couldn't pull something like that off. I can just imagine everyone calling me a skank," Sora sighed.

"At least they wouldn't call you a hippo!" Yolei smacked her thighs.

"Maybe I should just go with another one-piece bathing suit," Mimi shook her head at her reflection. Although her friends thought she looked good, Mimi struggled to see it. She had a nice bum, but Mimi was frustrated with the fact that after several years, she was the same bra size from junior high. Sora was busty and Yolei had strong, muscly legs that rivaled Beyoncé's. Mimi was only a couple of inches taller than Kari, but even Kari had a cute, hourglass figure for her petite frame. The only place Mimi gained weight was in her tummy, and no amount of crunches would make it go away. She reached for the one-piece hanging from the hook.

"No! You always get those," Yolei snatched the bathing suit out of Mimi's hand and tossed it over another stall. "You should get this!"

"Yeah, you look really cute in that," Sora agreed.

"And those pink ruffles are so you," Kari added.

"Fine," Mimi sighed. _I'll buy it, but I didn't say I was going to wear it_, she thought to herself as she examined herself in the pink bikini.

* * *

Looking at Nicole's shapely figure only made Mimi feel more uneasy about herself. Although Sora was buxom, she carried herself modestly. On the other hand, it was evident that Nicole had no problem flaunting her figure. Nicole looked like a Hooters girl, decked out in a tiny, low-cut tank top and even tinier track shorts.

Mimi snapped back to reality when she saw her cousin gesturing to her massive pile of designer suitcases. "I hope you don't treat all of your guests like this," were the last words she grasped coming out of Nicole's mouth.

"Yeah," Mimi responded back absentmindedly. _This was not supposed to happen like this_!

"Nicole! Nice to see you again!" Mrs. Tachikawa ran up to her niece and hugged her.

"It's so nice to see you too," Nicole gushed.

"Nicky," Mr. Tachikawa was going to hug her, but decided to pat her on the back instead. He was clearly uncomfortable with how scantily clad she was. "Uh, it's been a while since we've seen you."

"Hi Uncle!" Nicole flashed a smile. "Tell me about it. I missed you guys!"

"Here, let me show you where you're sleeping. Sorry we don't have a guest room, so you and Mimi will have to share. At least that gives you two girlies a chance to catch up, right?" Mrs. Tachikawa led Nicole to Mimi's room. "Here we go," she pointed to an inflatable bed.

"Oh," Nicole said with an air of disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Tachikawa said.

"It's nothing but... I can't sleep on that. You know," she hoisted up her chest. "I think I would be more comfortable on a real bed. That mattress would hurt my... back."

"Oh, okay. Mimi, you don't mind letting Nicky sleep on your bed, do you?"

"No," Mimi sighed. What else could she say?

"Girls," Mr. Tachikawa knocked on the bedroom door. "How about we go out to eat?"

"That sounds splendid!" Mrs. Tachikawa gushed.

"Yeah! Let me just grab my jacket," Nicole said.

Mimi took a deep breath. Somehow, she had a feeling that dinner wasn't going to be a piece of cake.

* * *

"So, what have you been up to since the last time we've seen you?" Mr. Tachikawa asked.

"Well, I'm a Nakasawa beer girl now! It's pretty fabulous," Nicole bragged.

"Dad, isn't Nakasawa your favorite beer?" Mimi asked as some beer foam escaped from Mr. Tachikawa's mouth.

"But aren't you too young to be drinking beer?" Mrs. Tachikawa crinkled her eyebrow.

"Yeah, but they don't care. As long as you're at least eighteen years old, attractive, and have a killer bod, you're qualified to be a beer girl," Nicole explained.

"So, what do you do as a beer girl?" Mrs. Tachikawa asked.

"We tour colleges all around Japan and sponsor a lot of events. We also do appearances at expos, magazine photo shoots, and that Spring Break thing on Tokiopop TV."

"Wow, that sounds interesting," Mr. Tachikawa sipped at his beer. "Are you going to school?"

"Nah. I don't plan to anytime soon. I really like being a Nakasawa beer girl. It's a pretty glamorous life," Nicole said as she picked at her lobster salad. "So, Mimi. What have you been up to?"

"Well, I'm going to school for nutrition-"

"Really? I thought you wanted to be a fashion designer. Whatever happened to that?" Nicole interrupted.

"Well," Mimi took a sip from her iced tea. "I thought about going to school for fashion design, but I don't think I could turn a hobby of mine and turn it into a job. I can't imagine taking something I love to do and making it into something I _have _to do." To avoid Nicole's gaze, Mimi took a piece of bread and pretended to be absorbed in spreading a little bit of butter on it. _No way I'm telling her about my bad math grades. If it weren't for Trigonometry, I probably would have been accepted into the Fashion Institute. __  
_

"Now, Meems. That's complete bull and you know it," Nicole said.

Caught off guard by this, Mimi almost sliced her hand with the butter knife. She gently placed her bread and knife on the appetizer place, and calmly drank some iced tea. "What do you mean by that?" she calmly asked Nicole, trying to keep her composure.

"We all know you don't like competition, and fashion design is a very, _very _competitive profession," Nicole said casually. "It's also very unstable. You could be in one moment and out the next. Going into fashion design is like going to a casino and gambling away all the money you have."

"So, what are you trying to say?" Mimi cocked her head. She didn't know whether to be offended or what.

"I'm just glad that you've finally got in touch in reality," Nicole smiled. "I mean, it's a given that you have a lot of potential to be an awesome designer, but let's get real. There's like less than a .0001 percent chance that you could be a world-famous fashion designer. And with those math grades of yours? You do know that you need to be good at math if you want to be in fashion design. I could always help you out if you're still struggling with math. I _was _in Honors math all of my years in high school."

"For your information, I passed all my math classes," Mimi said through gritted teeth. "And I like nutrition. It's a pretty fascinating major."

"Well, doesn't that chocolate cake look good?" Mr. Tachikawa said, hoping to change the subject.

"Yum. It sure does. Do you think you guys will have enough room for dessert?" Mrs. Tachikawa said.

"I will, but I'm not sure if Mimi will. After all, she is studying nutrition. A good doctor should practice what she preaches, right?" Nicole smirked.

"Trust me, I do. My motto is 'Everything in moderation'," Mimi smiled. She didn't want to show that she was at her boiling point.

* * *

Mimi had a hard time falling asleep. She just couldn't stop thinking about how Nicole always tried to one-up her, especially at dinner last night. She probably wouldn't have minded as much if Nicole didn't always try to cut her down, but that wasn't going to happen. _Why can't she just let me be me and stop trying to compete with me? I probably shouldn't take it so personally, but I can't help but to. It's like the more time I spend around her, the worse I feel about myself, _Mimi thought as she tossed and turned on the inflatable bed.

The first rays of sunshine peeked in from the window blinds. Mimi took her pillow and put it over her head. _Great, don't tell me I was up the whole night. If I'm going to be losing sleep over this...,_ Mimi dropped her pillow to the side of the bed and got up. _Sora's definitely up by now; she always wakes up mega early, _Mimi thought as she clutched her cell phone and walked to the bathroom. She sat in the tub and decided to call Sora.

"Hey Sora," Mimi said.

"Mimi? You're up pretty early," Sora sounded surprised.

"Yeah. So what are you up to right now?"

"Well, I was just in the middle of my morning jog but after that, we're heading to the beach."

"The beach?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, don't tell me you forgot," Sora said. "We're all gonna meet up there and just have some fun. It's been a while since we've all hung out together."

"That's right! That totally slipped my mind," Mimi said. _I do need a break from Nicole. A day at the beach would be perfect._

"Okay, wanna meet up at my house in an hour since you're already up?" Sora said.

"Sure," Mimi said. "See you soon!"

"Alright! Later," Sora said before hanging up. Seconds later, Mimi's phone rung again.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Meems!" Izzy said. "I just called to let you know that the beach trip was today, just in case you forgot."

"You know me too well," Mimi laughed.

"I'd like to think I know you better than I know the difference between the software on a Mac and a PC," Izzy said.

"Awwww," Mimi gushed. She had no idea what Izzy was saying, but knowing him, it must be something good.

"I'll see you there then. I love you."

"I love you too! Bye," Mimi smiled. Mimi instantly felt better. She couldn't wait to get out of the house. She walked to the kitchen, where her mom was watching a morning gossip show on the TV. "Hey, Mom. I'm going to the beach today, okay?"

"Sure. You should bring Nicole along too," Mrs. Tachikawa smiled.

_What? I didn't think of that..., _Mimi panicked on the inside. "Uh, I don't know if she would want to go. After all, she doesn't know my friends."

"That's okay. She could get to know them," Mrs. Tachikawa smiled again. "Who knows? Maybe Nicole will become extra close with your friends!"

_That's exactly what I'm afraid of, _Mimi thought. All she could do was fake a smile and nod.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Do I really have to?" Nicole huffed.

"Yeah," Mimi said. _Trust me, I don't want you to come either_, she silently thought. "My mom wants me to introduce you to my friends."

"I've got better things to do than to hang out with your loser friends," Nicole climbed out of her bed.

"My friends are _not_ losers," Mimi grit her teeth. "You haven't even met them yet and you're already making assumptions!"

"Well, if they're friends with _you_, they're either losers, morons, or a mix of both," Nicole grabbed a towel from Mimi's closet. "I'll go to the stupid beach, but I'm only going to make your mom happy. Oh, and to get a killer tan." She slipped her feet into her flip-flops and walked out of Mimi's room.

Mimi wanted to do nothing more than to throw a tantrum but decided against it. _No, that's what Nicky wants me to do. She's only trying to get on my nerves. I'm not going to play her little game, not this time._ Mimi took a deep breath and calmly walked to her dresser. She pulled out a drawer and shuddered. The first thing Mimi saw was that pink, ruffly bikini her friends made her get. _Come on, Mimi...you know you want to wear it. Don't you want to look good? Wear it, wear it!_ Mimi pulled the bikini out dresser and turned it around to inspect it. _Heck, I'll wear it_.

* * *

"How much longer?" Nicole whined.

"We haven't even walked out of the apartment complex yet," Mimi said.

"Sorry. I can't help it when I know I'm not gonna have a good time. I mean, after spending many nights socializing with A-listers, a stupid beach outing is very low on my excitement list," Nicole yawned.

"Just promise me you'll behave," Mimi sighed. _Oh my god, that sounds like something Izzy would say._ Although Mimi was usually happy and bubbly, her personality did a 180 when Nicole was around. Mimi would become sarcastic and a tad bit pessimistic (or realistic, as Izzy liked to call it), and she just felt like a completely different person.

"Puh-lease! You don't have to talk to me that way, it's not like I'm acting like a child...or look like one," Nicole pinched Mimi's cheek hard.

"Well, we're here," Mimi rang the buzzer.

"Wow, that was a fast walk," Nicole said.

_Not for me_, Mimi thought.

Sora opened the door. "Hey, Mimi...and person I don't know. Do I know you from somewhere?" she pointed at Nicole. "You look familiar."

"Sora, this is my cousin Nicole. Nicole, this is my best friend Sora," Mimi introduced them.

"Nice to meet you, Nicole," Sora shook her hand.

"Likewise," Nicole smiled. Only Mimi could tell that she was faking it. "You can call me Nicky if you want."

"I feel like I've seen you before," Sora rubbed her chin.

"I _am_ a Nakasawa girl," Nicole bragged.

"Cool, that has to be where I've seen you. Nicky, Mimi, you guys can grab what you want from the fridge while I finish packing. I shouldn't take much longer," Sora said.

"Thanks," Mimi said as she walked into Sora's apartment. "Come on, Nicky."

"Coming," Nicole said as she strode into Sora's apartment. She pulled Mimi by the elbow. "I gotta ask you something," she whispered in Mimi's ear.

"Well, what is it?" Mimi readjusted the tote bag on her shoulder. Whatever Nicole was going to ask, it probably wasn't something Mimi had the patience for.

"Shhh," Nicole put her finger to her lips. "Don't be so loud," she hissed.

"Then hurry up and ask," Mimi huffed.

"Is Sara a lesbian?"

"Who's Sara?" Mimi cocked her head.

"Oh my gosh! You must be a horrible friend if you can't remember your best friend's name!" Nicole gasped.

"You mean Sora? No, she's not a lesbian! And even if she was, why do you care?" Mimi crossed her arms. If Nicole was this frustrating to deal with now, Mimi was not looking forward to the rest of the day.

"Well, I'm used to being recognized by guys: college guys, old guys, rich guys, guys who could possibly be drug dealers or pimps. But this is the first time a female's recognized me," Nicole illogically reasoned.

Mimi shook her head. "And how on earth does that make her a lesbian?"

"Who's a lesbian?" Sora stood behind Mimi.

"Ellen Degeneres," Mimi blurted out the first lesbian's name that she could think of.

"I like her show. She's pretty funny," Sora nodded. "Are we ready to hit the beach?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nicole said. When Sora had her back turned, Nicole faced Mimi and mouthed the word "lesbian".

"Behave," Mimi mouthed back and shot Nicole a warning look.

* * *

"Hey!" Yolei frantically waved her arms at the girls. Ken was sitting next to her, clearly amused at how hyper Yolei was acting.

"Hi guys!" Sora walked towards Yolei as Mimi and Nicole trailed behind.

"Don't mean to be rude, but who is that?" Yolei pointed at Nicole.

"This is my cousin, Nicole. Nicole, this is Yolei and Ken," Mimi said. "Where's everyone else? Might as well introduce her to everyone now so I don't have to do it later," Mimi smiled.

"I'll get them!" Yolei kneeled on the sand. "HEY EVERYONE! GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE!"

"Uh, I thought you were actually going to walk up to them and bring them over," Ken said in a soft voice.

"Nah," Yolei shook her head. "I didn't feel like moving. Besides, my yelling worked. See?"

Sure enough, the rest of the gang showed up. "Hey, who's this?" Davis scratched his head.

"Everyone, this is my cousin Nicole. She's visiting for the week," Mimi said. "Nicole, this is TK, Davis, Matt, Izzy, Kari, Tai, Joe, and Cody."

"Holy crap! You're Miss May on the Nakasawa Girl calendar!" Matt pointed at Nicole.

"Ha ha! I see you're enjoying your birthday present," Tai winked at Matt. Sora shook her head and walked away, but Matt was too excited to notice.

"Would you mind signing my calendar one day? Everyone would freak if they found out I met Miss May!" Matt asked.

"Sure," Nicole flicked her hair. "Anything for my fans, especially if they're as cute as you," she winked at Matt.

"I'm also a fan! And I'm cute," Tai jumped in front of Matt. Mimi had never seen Matt or Tai act this excited about a girl.

Mimi walked over to Sora. "Hey, are you okay with that?" she jerked her thumb at Matt and Tai, who were still drooling over Nicole.

"Well," Sora shrugged. "I can't be too mad. To them, she's like a celebrity, so I can understand why they would be excited. I'm going to wade in the water with Kari for a little. Feel free to join us when you want," Sora said.

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'm just going to sit for a little," Mimi nodded. While she set her towel on the sand, she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes.

"Guess who," the familiar voice asked.

"Hmmm, I have no idea," Mimi pretended not to know. "Maybe I need a clue." As soon as she said that, a pair of lips pressed against her neck.

"Do you know now?"

"Nope," Mimi smiled. "Maybe if I had something to really jog my memory," she said coyly. With that, Izzy spun her around, gently leaned her against the sand, and kissed her on the lips.

"Do you remember now?" he smirked.

"Well," Mimi started to say.

"Oh my god! You two are together?" Nicole said out of nowhere. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend! Why didn't you tell me?"

Mimi and Izzy abruptly sat up. "I didn't want to interrupt your stories about your A-list lifestyle," Mimi said as Izzy let go of her.

"That's right! They are pretty exciting, if I do say so myself," Nicole said in a naturally posh voice. "So, we're gonna start a game of volleyball. You in?"

"I'll sit this one out," Izzy declined. He wasn't really good at sports, nor did he have any interest in them in the first place.

"Same," Mimi said, for the same reason.

"Fine. Suit yourselves," Nicole smirked before she ran off to join Matt, Tai, Davis, TK and Yolei.

"It's perfect weather to go in the water, don't you think?" Mimi asked Izzy.

"Yeah. I concur," Izzy nodded.

"Then let's go," Mimi tugged on his arm to pull him up. Once Izzy stood up, Mimi slipped off her pink sundress to reveal her bikini.

"Wow, you look beautiful," Izzy had a goofy, lovestruck look on his face.

"Thanks," Mimi smiled back, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. When she broke away from the kiss, she could have sworn she saw Nicole glaring in her direction. _Don't worry about her, it's just probably in your head,_ Mimi reasoned with herself.

"Oh my gosh! It's getting really hot in here!" Nicole said loud enough for the whole shore to hear her. "I'll be back, I just need to take off my clothes!" she obnoxiously threw her voice around. "Mimi, wait!"

Mimi tried to pretend like she couldn't hear her, but Izzy pulled her by the elbow. "I think your cousin's calling you," he said.

"I wonder what she wants," Mimi sighed. She could have sworn she saw Izzy give her a disapproving look, but she wasn't sure anymore. Being around Nicole only made Mimi feel more paranoid, psychotic, and insecure.

"Thank goodness I caught you in time," Nicole said dramatically. "Listen, where'd you put our stuff? I just want to keep everything together."

"Do you see that pink towel over there? The one with the pink tote next to it?" Mimi pointed to her stuff. Nicole shouldn't be able to miss it; Mimi's stuff was pretty distinguishable.

Yet, it seemed like Nicole had no idea what Mimi was talking about. "Where?" she squinted her eyes.

"Here," Mimi grabbed Nicole's wrist and led her to her towel. Izzy trailed not too far behind.

"Ohhhh," Nicole nodded. "Perfect!" she said as she teasingly started to take off her tiny tank top. Izzy immediately turned the other way, as Mimi felt uneasy. Nicole pouted a little in dissatisfaction.

"Well, here's where I put my stuff. Me and Izzy are going back to the water now," Mimi awkwardly waved.

"Wait, I'll go join you guys too!" Nicole said as she took off her tiny cutoff shorts. Even though Nicole's bathing suit was technically a one-piece, there were so many slits and holes everywhere, she might as well have been naked. Nicole jogged over in front of Izzy. "So, Jizzy?"

"Izzy. Without the J," Izzy corrected.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Nicole put her hand to her ample chest. "So, Izzy. What do you do for a living?"

"Uh," Izzy was caught off-guard by Nicole's forwardness. "Well, I'm studying at university and I have a part-time job at an Italian restaurant. When I'm not doing that, the university pays me to tutor others."

"Wow, you must be one busy guy," Nicole winked as she ever-so-subtly nudged Mimi away.

Oblivious to Nicole's innuendo, Izzy nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty busy but I like it. It's better than sitting around doing nothing, like so many of our peers are apt to do."

"Wow, you're like the total package!" Nicole gushed. "You're smart, productive, and handsome."

"Thanks," Izzy massaged the back of his neck and blushed. He wasn't used to getting compliments, especially from attractive people. He was still trying to learn how to act normal when Mimi said something nice about him.

"Anyways, I should get back to the volleyball game. I'm pretty sure those guys need my help!" she winked at Izzy and ran off.

"Well, your cousin seems nice," Izzy said.

"Yeah, that's one word to describe her...," Mimi said softly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Izzy delicately picked up her chin.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired," Mimi lied. She was tired, but that wasn't what was bothering her. "I think I'm just going to go back and sit for a while."

"Okay. I'll come with you," he put his hand on the small of her back as they walked back to their spot. "I'm going to get a water. Do you want anything?" he asked her. She shook her head no. She wasn't really hungry or thirsty. "Okay. I'll be back," Izzy kissed her on the cheek before he left.

Mimi scooped up the sand with her fingers and sighed. She should be having a good time, but she couldn't help but feel miserable. She let the sand fall between her fingers as her mind wandered off.

"Mimi?" a voice called out.

"Hey," Mimi looked up to see who it was, and she couldn't help but to be surprised.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Mimi?"

Mimi looked up to see who called her name, and she couldn't help but to be surprised. "Hey," she said calmly. "What's up, Cody?"

Cody took a seat next to her on the sand. "Well, I don't know how to say this without sounding judgemental and insolent but...," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"But what?" Mimi could tell Cody felt uneasy with what he was going to say.

"Errr, well...I don't know how to go about saying this, but I don't like your cousin. I don't know why, but I just have this bad feeling about her. There's something that makes me suspicious of her. I suggest you watch out for her. She seems very untrustworthy and conniving to me," Cody said, his face turning red.

"Really?" Mimi was shocked. Most people loved Nicole the instant they met her, but Cody was not intrigued by her first impression.

"Like I said, it's not like she did anything to me, but I have this bad feeling about her."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on her," she nodded. She felt somewhat relieved that someone else felt the same way about Nicole as she did. She didn't feel as alone anymore and it made her feel better that Cody of all people shared her opinion. Although everyone thought Kari was the intuitive one, Cody's instincts were more spot-on. Mimi knew and appreciated the fact that Cody was wise beyond his years. Because of this, Mimi took Cody's judgements to heart.

Cody and Mimi looked in the direction of the volleyball net. Everyone seemed to be fawning over Nicole, especially Yolei. Even Davis seemed hypnotized by Nicole, and he only girl he ever drooled over was Kari. TK seemed to be the only exception; he didn't seem fazed at all by Nicole's presence. He simply walked away from the group and waded in the water, where Sora and Kari were. Cody shook his head, looking almost disappointed. "I don't know what they see. I'm trying, but I can't."

"Hey," Izzy walked over to Mimi and Cody. He noticed that they both had somber looks on their faces and he wanted to know what was wrong. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Cody droned.

"Oh," Izzy was taken aback by his response. "So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"No," Mimi said softly.

"Huh," Izzy took a swig from his water. These one-word answers were clearly making him uncomfortable. "So, are you guys having any fun?"

"Sure," Cody shrugged.

"Hmmm," Izzy sighed._  
_

"I'm going in the water," Cody got up and walked away.

"Kay," Mimi flashed a weak smile at Cody.

When Cody left, Izzy put his arm around Mimi's shoulders. "What's wrong with Cody?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Mimi sighed. "It's kind of personal."

"Oh," Izzy sounded a bit miffed.

"No, I don't mean it like that," Mimi shook her head. "It's just that it's not the right time to say anything, you know?"

"I understand," Izzy slumped. "Cody will tell everyone when he's ready."

"Right," Mimi said. They sat in silence for several minutes.

"Mi-," Izzy began to speak, but he was interrupted by a volleyball flying in their direction.

"Owwww!" Mimi shrieked. The volleyball hit her in the face and she started to bleed.

"Mimi!" Izzy yelled.

"Is she okay?" Joe ran over with a first-aid kit. "Wow, that looks bad."

"What?" Mimi's eyes grew wide in fear.

"No, no, no! I mean, that ball hit you pretty hard! You're fine!" Joe said. "Tilt your head up and keep it that way," he told her. She did as he said while he gently cleaned off her face with some disinfectant.

"Oh my gosh!" Nicole yelled as she ran toward Mimi. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I hit that volleyball way too hard!" she said in the most insincere tone possible. Not that it mattered; Cody was the only other person who knew Nicole was fake.

"I'm fine," Mimi said, trying to sound calm. On the inside, she was livid.

"I guess I need to be more gentle with my serves," Nicole blabbered on. "I really do have strong arms and..."

Mimi tuned out Nicole's monologue. _The last thing Nicky needs is another spectator_.

"Mimi, are you okay?" Izzy asked.

_What do you think? I just got slammed hard in the face with a volleyball and now I look like a hot mess_, Mimi wanted to say. She couldn't take it out on Izzy though; it's not like anything was his fault. "No, I'm okay, just a little worn out. I think I'm going to go home now," she began to pack up her stuff.

"Awww, I don't want to leave yet though," Nicole whined.

"Then don't," Mimi said firmly. "I'm leaving, though."

"But I don't have a way back home," Nicole complained.

"But we walked to the beach. It's only a fifteen-minute walk from our apartment," Mimi protested.

"But what if I get assaulted on the way back? If I were a serial killer, I would sexually harass someone as attractive as me!" Nicole gasped.

"Mimi, don't sweat it," Joe said. "I'll take Nicole home."

"You will?" Nicky sounded happy.

"Are you sure? You don't have to do that," Mimi said.

"It's not a problem," Joe said.

"Alright," Mimi reluctantly gave in. "Thanks, Joe. You're in good hands now, Nicky. Tell everyone I said bye," she said as she hoisted her tote bag up on her shoulder.

"Here, I'll walk you home," Izzy took the tote bag from Mimi's shoulder and carried it.

"Fine," Mimi said.

When they made it to the sidewalk, Izzy turned to look at Mimi. "Meems?"

"Yeah?"

"What's bothering you? Something's obviously upsetting you because you're quieter than usual," Izzy said. "Was it something I did? Or did it have to do with something that Cody said?"

"It's not a big deal," Mimi casually tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm just probably overreacting." _At least that's what you would probably say if I told you. Everyone else has said it. Everyone always thinks I'm being too sensitive and dramatic when it comes to Nicole._

"About what?" Izzy cocked his head.

"It's nothing," Mimi bit her lip and shook her head.

Izzy exhaled deeply. He was getting impatient with Mimi's sudden coldness. "Are you forgetting something?" he asked her in a stern tone.

"What?" Mimi was confused. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Are you forgetting that I'm your boyfriend? As in, that means you can come to me for anything," he said firmly. "I can tell something's bothering you, so why can't you just give me a chance to help you out? Don't you trust me?"

"It's not that, I _do _trust you. I just don't want to bug you with unimportant things. Like I said, I don't want to make something out of a tiny problem," Mimi said.

"If it's such a small problem, then why is it upsetting you this much?" Izzy asked.

_Because no matter what I do, she always comes out on top. That's just the way it's always been. Why would this time around be any different? _"Can we just drop it?" Mimi snapped.

"Fine," Izzy shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't want to even think about it right now," Mimi said. "I just wanted to have a good time today, but I guess that didn't help take my mind off things. I promise I'll come to you when I need help."

"Okay," Izzy said. "I'm just worried about you, that's all." They walked in silence the rest of the way back to Mimi's apartment complex. They stopped at the door of her apartment and Izzy handed Mimi her tote bag. He then kissed the top of her head and walked away.

_Funny how she's not even here, and she still manages to make me miserable, _Mimi sighed as she went inside.

* * *

"And oh my gosh, Joe is like the perfect guy! He's got the gentleman charm of an old man, but he's not an old man," Nicole gushed. "It's like the perfect combination! He's like way younger than many of the men I've courted. I mean, it's about time I dated someone who wasn't old enough to be my dad, right? Anyways, we're going to some fancy Italian restaurant on Wednesday. Maybe you and your boyfriend can come along too, like a double date!"

"Hmmm, I think I have other plans that day," Mimi said. _Note to self: Make plans to go to the mall with the girls Wednesday night._

"Then how about tomorrow morning? Matt's going to take me to this cafe. He says they make the best frozen hot chocolate there," Nicole said.

Mimi abruptly sat up straight. "Is Sora going to be there?" she asked.

"Pfffft," Nicole scoffed. "Who gives a shit?"

"You are aware that Matt is Sora's boyfriend, right?" Mimi clenched her fists.

"Wow, really? For a closet lesbian, she sure can pick out some cute guys," Nicole said.

"She's not a lesbian," Mimi said sternly. "And she and Matt are in a serious relationship. They've been going out for years."

"Uh, hullo?" Nicole stopped brushing her hair and stood akimbo. "I don't see any wedding bands on their left ring finger, so as far as I know, Matt's fair game."

"You're...you're...you're," Mimi stuttered. "Completely unbelievable!"

"I know. By the end of my visit, all of your guy friends are going to say the same thing, if you know what I mean," Nicole smirked. "And don't worry, I won't leave your boyfriend out. He'll get his fair share too. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to meet up with Tai at the movies. Au revoir," she winked and blew Mimi a kiss before she left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"TK!" Mimi squealed.

"Mimi," he yawned and stretched his arms.

"I'm so glad you could come," she wrapped her arms around his.

"No problem," he said. "I'm happy to be here." His blond hair flopped over his blue eyes and he had a gentle smile on his face. He looked a little sleepy, almost like he woke up from a good dream.

"Hey, do you want something? You look like you need some caffeine right now," she giggled.

"Sure," TK smiled again.

* * *

"Hey, hot stuff!" Nicole winked at Matt, who was leaning against the building.

"Hey yourself," Matt nodded at her. "Ready for some frozen hot cocoa?"

"You know it," Nicole playfully smacked Matt on his backside. "I do need something to cool me down." Matt opened the door for Nicole and they walked into the cafe.

"Hey guys! You finally made it," TK said calmly. He and Mimi were casually sipping away at their coffees.

"Look, I snagged us a booth!" Mimi looked extremely chipper. "I hope you don't mind. We're still waiting on everyone else."

"I didn't know this was a group gathering," Matt sounded surprised.

"Me neither," Nicole raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I guess we just gotta roll along with the punches, right? You go sit down and I'll get the cocoa," Matt said.

"Okay," Nicole forced a smile and walked over to the booth. "Mimi, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure, what's up?" Mimi smiled although she was secretly intimidated by Nicole's creepy smile. TK looked up from his cup of coffee and stared blankly at her.

"In private," Nicole huffed.

"Alright," Mimi sighed. "I'll be back," she said to TK before she got up from the booth. Nicole pulled her in front of the bathrooms.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nicole hissed.

"Well, since you and Matt were going to the cafe, me and TK wanted to go too. They make a pretty mean cup of coffee here," Mimi shrugged nonchalantly. "We told everyone else to come, so we've been waiting for the last fifteen minutes."

"Cut the crap," Nicole growled. "You're just mad because your little rock star friend thinks I'm hotter than his girlfriend. Do you think that bringing his little brother along is gonna stop Matt from boning on me? Because it won't. And for the record, I know TJ's into me too, he's just playing hard-to-get. Not that I mind, I like to play too," Nicole smirked. "As my varsity lacrosse coach used to say: play hard, win hard."

"Right," Mimi said. "We should probably was back before my coffee gets cold."

"Wow," Nicole huffed. "Sometimes I think I give you too much credit," she shook her head and walked back to the booth. Mimi followed suit and made it to the booth first. "Scoot over," she bumped her hip into Matt's arm.

"But-" Matt started to say.

"You don't have a problem with that, do you? Just move," TK grunted as he moved over inside the booth. Matt did what he said and Mimi sat down next to him.

"Come on, Nicky! Sit," Mimi patted on the empty spot next to her.

"That's okay. I'll sit over here, if you don't mind," Nicole seated herself next to TK.

"I mind," TK muttered under his breath, but Matt was the only one who heard him.

Matt nudged him. "Be nice," he whispered into TK's ear.

"So, Matt. Wasn't Nicky going to sign your calendar?" TK asked, obnoxiously loud.

"Yeah," Matt gave TK a weird look.

"Well, where's your calendar? I don't see it," TK looked around Matt and then under the table.

"Oh crap, I forgot it!" Matt blushed as he laughed nervously. "I guess we'll have to meet up another time so you can sign it!"

"Hmmm," TK and Mimi both gave Matt suspicious looks.

"I don't mind," Nicole said coyly. She looked at Mimi and flashed her a cocky smile. "So, PJ! I like that hat of yours. You look soooo good in it."

"Uh, thanks. By the way, it's TK but if it's too much trouble for you to remember two simple letters, you can always call me Takeru," TK retorted, stirring more sugar into his coffee.

"Wow, someone's a bit testy," Nicole gasped. "Sorry!"

"It's kind of a touchy subject," Davis hovered behind the booth.

"You see, Davis always called him by the wrong name for many years," Kari added. "I'd be ticked off if someone kept referring to me to the wrong name too. Especially if that person was a friend," she shot Davis a mischievous glance.

"It's not my fault I'm dyslexic!" Davis protested.

"Only problem is that you're not dyslexic," Kari giggled.

"So when is everyone else coming?" Mimi asked Kari.

"Well, Yolei can't make it because she has to work the morning shift at her family's store," Davis informed.

"And Tai's sleeping in," Kari nodded. "Joe can't come because he's studying for finals, and Sora can't make it because she's working at the flower shop."

Mimi could tell that Nicole was happy that Sora wasn't going to show up. Nicole's smile gave away her schadenfreude. "What about Cody?"

"He said he has kendo practice in an hour so he's not coming either," Davis said.

"Which I think is weird, considering the fact he only has practice on Saturday mornings," Kari wrinkled her nose. "I think it's just gonna be us today. Is Izzy coming?"

"No," Mimi sighed. "He's gonna be at the university till 3."

"Bummer," Davis said. "Now, are you guys gonna make us stand here or are you gonna make some room?"

"Here," Nicole moved closer to TK, which made him cringe a little.

"Finally," Davis said as he and Kari slid into the booth.

"So, TK," Nicole leaned in close to his face. "Has anyone told you that you're pretty cute?" she said as she gently stroked the boy's cheek. Mimi watched Matt bite his lip, looking pretty steamed. She also saw a devious shine flicker in Nicole's eyes, only to be accompanied by the arrogant smirk creeping up in her face. "I bet you have a lot of girls running after you," Nicole continued in a seductive tone, grinning as she watched TK's body start to tense up.

"Excuse me, I have to go," TK mumbled. "Matt, can I get out?" he nudged his brother.

"Okay," Matt said. He and Mimi slid out of the booth so that TK could get out.

"Sorry I can't stay. I forgot I have to be somewhere else and I'm running late. Bye," TK said rapidly before he left. For some strange reason, Mimi felt TK was talking only to her. Mimi slid back in the booth first, so that she sat next to Nicole.

"Wow, what's his deal?" Nicole scrunched up her face.

"Didn't you know?" Davis's eyes opened wide.

"No, what?" Nicole asked.

"You see, TK's a homo," Davis said.

"DAVIS!" Kari yelled and smacked him.

"Oh my gosh, really?" Nicole gasped.

"Yep," Mimi nodded.

Davis shot her a surprised look. "What the hell?" he mouthed to Mimi. Usually, Mimi wouldn't have gone along with Davis's antics, but this time was different.

"Such a shame. He's so cute too!" Nicole pouted.

"Can we please stop talking about my little brother's sexual orientation?" Matt tapped on the table. "I don't think it's an appropriate conversation to have over cocoa!"

"What's not an appropriate conversation?"

"Sora!" Matt gasped in shock. "I thought you had work!"

"Nah, my mom let me leave early so that I could hang out with you guys," she smiled.

"That's great," Matt said weakly. "I'll get you something."

"Thanks," Sora gave him a quick peck on the lips. She sat down next to Mimi while Matt went to get her a drink. "So, where's Izzy?"

"He's busy," Mimi sighed.

"That stinks. It's like he has less free time now, even though it's summer," Sora observed.

"I wonder why," Nicole sarcastically said.

"I got you your favorite," Matt returned with a strawberry milkshake.

"Uh, thanks?" Sora made a face as she played with the straw in the shake.

* * *

Mimi couldn't help but to be disturbed by this morning's get-together. "Matt planned to meet up with Nicole so she could sign his calendar. Don't you think it's a bit odd that they decided to meet up when Matt knew that Sora was supposed to be working?"

"Oh, come on!" Izzy said. "You and TK met up that morning too, and you knew I was in class!"

"But that's different! I told you that I was going to be with TK, and everyone else, that morning," Mimi said. "If I didn't text her to meet up at the cafe, she would have never known that Matt and Nicole were there!"

"So?" Izzy shrugged. "Matt and Nicole were together at the beach too. What's your point?"

"Well, Matt 'forgot' his calendar," Mimi put air quotations around the word 'forgot'.

"And?" Izzy shook his head. "Matt's been pretty forgetful lately."

"You should have been there. If you saw the way he was acting, you would know that he didn't actually forget," Mimi wagged her finger at Izzy.

"Maybe I should have been there. It seems like you're blowing things out of proportion," Izzy gave her an exasperated look.

"No, I'm not!" Mimi protested. "Then, TK immediately left when Nicole had her hands all over him, basically groping him!"

"Are you jealous or something?" Izzy gave her a weird look.

"Of course not! I just don't like it when Nicky's all grabby with my friends," Mimi crossed her arms. "I could tell he was uncomfortable. Could he have been attracted to Nicole, but scared to do anything about it? Or maybe he just doesn't like unfamiliar people in his personal space. Who knows?"

"Why do you even care what TK thinks of Nicole?" Izzy raised an eyebrow.

"To top it off, Matt was surprised, and not in a good way, when Sora showed up," Mimi kept ranting, ignoring Izzy's question. "What really takes the cake was the fact that Matt ordered Sora a strawberry milkshake."

"So what? He ordered her a milkshake."

"But she hates milkshakes!" Mimi yelled. "And she's allergic to strawberries! How could Matt forget something like that? A good boyfriend wouldn't forget something like that!"

"Mimi, I appreciate the fact that you're thinking systematically, but don't you think you're overanalyzing this?"

"No!" Mimi huffed. "If you saw the way she was behaving, you would agree with me!"

"Well, I wasn't there, so you can stop telling me that I should have been there," Izzy threw his hands up in exasperation. "And for the record, I think you're being overly dramatic about it."

"I knew you were going to say that!" Mimi said. "This is why I didn't want to tell you anything! Everyone always takes Nicky's side and they never even want to hear how I feel!"

"This isn't about taking anyone's side," Izzy said firmly. "This is about you being completely irrational!"

"Well, if I'm being sooo irrational, then maybe we shouldn't go out tonight!" Mimi was beyond hysterical at this point.

"That's probably the most reasonable thing you've said so far!" Izzy raised his voice. "I'll take you up on that!"

"Fine!" Mimi pressed her lips shut.

"Fine!" Izzy said. He swung his blazer over his shoulder and left her apartment. Mimi stared at the door for a couple of minutes, her eyes getting more watery by the second. This was the first serious fight she and Izzy had. Sure, they've had their fair share of disagreements, but they got over them and moved on. This time, Mimi wasn't sure if they could get over this.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_How could I have been so stupid? _Izzy exhaled deeply as the rain poured down. _Mimi can get a bit emotional, but I haven't seen her this upset in a long time. Why didn't I realize this until now? I should have listened to her, not disregard what she had to say. I bet she doesn't even want to see my face right now. I don't blame her...I'm such a jerk! _He cautiously treaded across the quad, trying not to slip on the wet grass. He finally made it to his dorm suite. He put his key in the doorknob and opened the door.

"Hey Izzy!" a punky-looking guy lounged a couch.

"Hey Jeremy," Izzy sighed.

"Whoa, rough night?" Jeremy sat up.

"Don't you know it," Izzy said.

"You look like you could use some Russian water," Jeremy held up a bottle of vodka. "Come," he poured some vodka into an empty shot glass and pointed at it.

"Alright," Izzy dropped his stuff by the entrance and went to sit next to Jeremy. He downed his shot and stared at the TV. "What are you watching?"

"Spongebob," Jeremy refilled Izzy's shot glass. "You know, it's pretty funny when you say 'That's what she said' after every line Spongebob says."

"Gary! You're going to eat your dessert and you're gonna like it!" the TV blared.

"THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!" Jeremy yelled and began to laugh hysterically.

"You know what? I'm beat," Izzy gulped down his vodka and put his glass on the coffee table. "I think I'll head to bed."

"Alright, but you're missing out on all the fun!"

Izzy shook his head and walked to his room. He plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. _I'll apologize to her tomorrow. But maybe I should give her some time to cool down. I know she's going to be pretty pissed at me for a while. _He loosened his tie and began to doze off.

* * *

Mimi tossed and turned in her inflatable mattress. "It's not fair, it's not fair! She comes along and suddenly my whole life is upside down. In a couple of days, my friends barely know I exist, my parents do everything they can to make her comfortable, and Izzy thinks I'm psycho and it's all because of her." She sat up on her mattress, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. _It's all in your head, it's all in your head. Once you open your eyes, everything will be back to normal. Just relax and count to ten_, she meditated. _One...two...three...four...five...si-_ The door opened and slammed hard against the wall._ Dammit._

"Hello darling!" Nicole dropped her oversized bag on the floor and spun around, pirouette-style. "I had such an amazing day! Davis invited me to one of his soccer matches and it was a fun game! I mean, he's not really that good of a player, but there were a lot of hot guys there!"

"Sounds like fun," Mimi mumbled. For every soccer match, Davis only got one free ticket to give away and he always gave it to Kari. This was the first time that he gave it to someone else.

"It was," Nicole grinned. "Hey, what's up with you? Your face looks more blotchy than Colby Jack cheese."

"Nothing," Mimi turned her back so Nicole wouldn't see her face. That didn't work because Nicole walked over and sat in front of Mimi.

"What's wrong?" Nicole smiled. "Look at me!" Mimi turned her head to avoid her gaze, but Nicole grabbed her by the chin and looked her in the eyes. "Oooh, something bad happened. I can tell," she nodded.

"I'm fine!" Mimi snapped. She slapped Nicky's hand away and walked to the other side of the room.

"Please," Nicole smirked. "I can see it in your eyes. You got in a fight with someone, didn't you?"

"None of your business," Mimi growled.

"Oh, so I am right!" Nicole said triumphantly. "So who was it? Was it your little boyfriend?"

Mimi silently stood at the corner of the room.

"Awww, is there trouble in Lover's Paradise?" Nicole said in contempt. "If it makes you happy, he could do so much better than you."

Mimi furiously bit her lip, still silent.

"I would spend the time and pretend to care, but I need to get ready," Nicole shrugged and opened one of her suitcases.

"Get ready for what?" Mimi asked suspiciously.

"To go on a date with little Izzy," she smirked. "Now which outfit do you think I should wear?" she held a blue sequined minidress and a shorter, gold minidress with cut-out holes around the waist. "Jesus," she huffed and threw her dresses down on her bed. "Mimi, I'm just kidding!" she shook Mimi's shoulders. "Can't you take a joke? I'm going clubbing with Yolei. I'm going out with Izzy on Friday."

Mimi shook herself away from Nicole's grip and walked out of the room.

"Someone really can't take a joke," Nicole laughed to herself as she began to get ready.

* * *

_Buzz, buzz, buzz! _Mimi picked up her bedazzled cell phone. "Wow, it's a miracle I even got any sleep," Mimi yawned. She looked over at Nicole, who was sleeping peacefully and then looked back at her cell phone.

_Hey Meems! Are you still going to the mall with us today? Nicole told us you might be able to go, but you weren't sure. Let us know!_

_-Love Kari_

"What is she even talking about?" Mimi whispered. "I don't remember all of us planning to go shopping." She took her phone and began to text Kari back.

_OMG! I__ totally forgot! You know me, I'm totally forgetful ;)_

_Can you tell me what we're gonna do? That way I can check my email for coupons :)_

_-Mimi_

As soon as she sent her text, she got another text.

_We're going to help Nicole find an outfit for her date with Joe tonight. Thank goodness I reminded you! Otherwise, we would have gone to the mall without your fashion expertise. We'll pick you guys up at noon._

_-Kari_

"That's weird," Mimi said. "Hold on a second..." She looked back at Nicole and then grimaced at her phone. _She invited my friends to the mall and didn't even bother to tell me about it! That sneak! _Mimi furiously typed away at her phone.

_I'll meet you guys up at the entrance instead. Besides, I want to take a quick scan at the mall before we shop, so I know where the good stuff's at ;)_

_-Mimi_

Mimi her cell on top of the dresser and began deciding on an outfit to wear. Her phone buzzed against the wood and she picked it up.

_Okay, cool! I won't tell the other girls you're coming. They would be so surprised if you turned down hanging at the mall! It would be fun to keep them in suspense ;)_

_See you there!_

_-Kari_

Mimi smiled at her phone. Even though Kari was a sweet girl, she did enjoy pulling tiny pranks on her friends, just like TK liked to do. "Well, time to get ready!"

* * *

_"_Oh Colby! I see you decided to make it after all," Nicole's voice made it obvious that she was clearly disappointed.

"Colby?" Yolei made a face. "Why are you calling her Colby?"

"Oh, it's just a private joke between the two of us. Isn't that right, Colby?" Nicole nudged Mimi.

"Sure," Mimi said blandly.

"Okay, enough of the chit-chat! We're on a mission here! We must find me something perfect for my date!" Nicole jumped up and down. "We don't have much time to waste!"

"Wow, it's kind of funny how Nicky can be just as enthusiastic as Mimi gets when it comes to shopping," Sora whispered into Kari's ear.

"They're definitely related," Kari giggled.

"Let's go here first!" Nicole pulled Yolei by the wrist and ran into a store, while the other girls followed along.

Mimi looked around the store in disgust. "What exactly are we doing in a novelty sex shop?"

"Ugh, don't be such a prude!" Nicole said as she looked at a package of edible underwear.

"No offense, but I don't think this is a good spot to look for your outfit," Sora winced as she stared at a bright, red riding crop. "Something tells me that this isn't used for horses...," her voice trailed off.

"Whoa! Look at all these curling irons!" Kari exclaimed from at the back of the store. "I want this one! You can change the size of the barrel from wide to thin!"

"Uh, hun...I don't think those are curling irons," Mimi ushered Kari back to where the other girls were.

"What about this outfit?" Nicole held up a sexy Dutch-girl costume.

"For Halloween?" Yolei tilted her head.

"No, silly! For my date!" Nicole said.

"Is she serious?" Sora whispered.

"Mmm hmm," Mimi nodded her head.

"Uh, I think Joe might faint if you show up looking like that," Kari said.

"That's a good thing!" Nicole squealed.

"No, it's not. That outfit is way too slutty!" Yolei said. "And that's pretty bad, coming from me."

"Okay, I won't get this. But what am I going to wear?" Nicole whined.

"We still have the whole mall to look around," Sora said.

"I guess that's true," Nicole sighed. "But this is my favorite store..."

"There's nothing wrong with going to other stores," Mimi shrugged. "They have a sale going on at Uptown Chic."

"That store would be perfect! Sexy yet classic," Kari nodded.

"Okay, then let's go!" Nicole motioned the girls along.

"Oooh, look at that!" Kari pointed at a pink purse.

"That is pretty cute!" Mimi picked up the purse. "And it's 40 percent off!"

"How about this?" Sora held up a silver, sequined cowl-neck shirt.

"That will totally be on my 'Maybe' pile," Nicole took the shirt and put it in a mesh basket.

"Or this?" Yolei held up a grey dress. "It's almost like an LBD only it's grey!"

"Okay," Nicole nodded. "I'll check it out."

"How about this?" Mimi showed her a slinky, sea green, one-shouldered silk top.

"Oooh, I like that! It almost looks like something a Greek goddess would wear," Kari gushed.

"Yeah, that's really pretty!" Sora said.

"It would totally look good on you!" Yolei nodded.

"Not interested," Nicole snatched the shirt out of Mimi's hands and threw it at a random clothing rack.

"Okay then," Mimi shrugged and walked over to the accessories. "Only tried to help." She and Kari looked at all of the purses and jewlery while Sora and Yolei went around the store looking for more stuff.

"I like this," Mimi held up a friendship necklace set. One necklace had a heart-shaped lock on it, and the other had a key hanging from the chain.

"That's cool," Kari looked at the pendants. "I should get one of those for me and TK."

"Ahem," Nicole cleared her throat. "How about this, guys?" she held up a polyester minidress that had hands imprinted on the bust area.

"Uh...," Yolei grimaced. "I don't know what to say."

"I didn't even know this store would even sell something like that," Mimi made a face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nicole crossed her arms.

"What I mean is," Mimi gently took the dress from Nicole's arms. "If you want trashy, we'll just head to Target, buy some Hefty bags and wrap you up in them."

"Mimi!" Sora gasped.

"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?" Yolei said.

"Look, I'm worn out by all this shopping. I'm gonna crash at the food court," Mimi slumped her shoulders and walked out of the store.

"Suit yourself," Nicole smirked.

"I can't believe it. You just try to help someone out, and everyone gangs up against you. Today sucks," Mimi grumbled as she sat in an empty table. She scanned around the food court. Happy couples, giggling groups of girls, fast food that makes people prone to food poisoning, but nothing to help Mimi feel better. She glumly swirled a wrapped straw in her fingers, thinking about how good of a time her friends were having with Nicole. She would have kept dwelling on that, but someone snapped her back into reality.

"Hey, can I sit here?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Hey, can I sit here?"

"Sure," Mimi nodded her head.

"Rough day, huh?" he plopped down on the chair. "I know it's been hard for me."

"Sure looks like it," Mimi cracked a small smile. "What happened?"

"The ice cream machine broke and since the only thing we sell is ice cream," TK sighed and took off his paper hat. "Our manager screamed at us and let us leave early."

"Why would he yell at you?" Mimi put her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together.

"Turns out one of my coworkers tried to make a gummy-bear flavored soft-serve, so the machine is clogged with gooey candy," he buried his face into his hands.

"That's...not something that happens everyday," Mimi laughed.

"Nothing at my job is ordinary," TK let out a small chuckle, his hair falling into his eyes. "For instance, two of my coworkers were arguing about which kind of jimmies were better. Next thing you know, one coworker decided to throw chocolate jimmies at my other coworker, so she threw rainbow ones back at him. To top things off, another coworker joined in and threw maraschino cherries at them. It was like a food fight, only it was at work and not school," TK smiled.

"Hmmm, what did you do?" Mimi said coyly. "Somehow I can't believe that you just stood there doing nothing."

"Okay, okay!" TK held up his hands, almost as if he was surrendering. "I wasn't exactly innocent myself. I took a can of whipped cream and sprayed it on everyone," he smirked. "It was all in self-defense!"

"So stuff like this happens all the time?" Mimi was intrigued by TK's story.

"Yep," he nodded. "So it's pretty normal for the manager to send us home early."

"So is that why the ice cream place always seems to be closed?" Mimi eyed TK's pink work polo.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, I still get paid for the whole shift, but I wish I could work for at least three hours without getting sent home early."

"Why's that?" Mimi raised an eyebrow. She never knew anyone who actually wanted to work a whole shift.

"Well, work gives me something to do. I've been here the whole day, just completely bored out of my mind," TK fiddled with his paper hat.

"Well, you found me!" Mimi said. "Let's do something fun!"

"Aren't you supposed to be with the girls right now?" TK asked. "Kari mentioned that you guys were doing girly stuff and whatever."

"I think they'll be fine without me," Mimi said. "So what do you wanna do first?"

"Let's check the hat store," TK said. "I want to check out what they have."

"Okay," Mimi got up from her seat and pulled TK out of his. "Let's get a move on!"

* * *

"What do you think of this one?" TK pointed to a beige Gilligan hat on his head.

"Don't you already have a hat that looks like that?" Mimi looked confused.

"No," TK took off the hat and held it up. "This hat is beige. The hat I have is obviously cream. Huge difference," he smirked. "I thought you of all people would know that," he playfully nudged her.

"You're not seriously going to get that, are you?" Mimi stuck out her tongue.

"Why not?" TK examined the price tag. "You should get one too."

"What?" Mimi's eyes bulged out. "Those hats are a fashion don't...no offense."

"None taken," TK laughed. "But you've had your fair share of fashion don'ts too. I remember you wearing a big, pink cowboy hat, is that right?"

"Okay...maybe I did," Mimi said sheepishly. "But that was because it was cool back then."

"Riiight... At least try one on," he handed her a pink version of his hat.

"Okay," Mimi took the hat and put it on. "Can I take it off now?"

"No," TK shook his head. "It looks good on you. You should get it."

"Hmmm," Mimi examined herself in a mirror. She did like how the hat looked on her, but she didn't want to admit it to TK. "I guess I'll get it," she said. "It is in my favorite color, after all."

"Good. So when people ask where you got the hat, don't forget to mention that I picked it out for you. I have better taste than people think," TK winked.

"You're something else, you know that?" Mimi playfully slapped TK with the hat.

* * *

Nicole was never anxious before a date, but this time was different. _Why am I so nervous? It's not like this is the first time I'm going on a date_, she thought as she adjusted her makeup. _Besides, it's not exactly like he's a celebrity or a hottie._ Nicole walked out of the bathroom and grabbed the outfit she set aside for date. She settled on a one-shouldered sea green top, black leather pants, and black high heels. Nicole rubbed her tense neck and took a deep breath. "What the hell is wrong with me?" she walked over to her purse and grabbed a bottle of pills. She opened it and popped some Valium in her mouth. "Much better," she sighed. She put on her outfit and calmly brushed her long hair.

* * *

"Today was pretty fun," Mimi smiled.

"Of course it was. You had the privilege of hanging out with me the whole day," TK smirked. "I am a pretty big deal, ya know?"

"Yeah, if that's how you wanna see it," she stuck out her tongue.

"Come on, you can't resist this," TK jokingly flexed his muscles.

"Whatever," Mimi playfully pushed him.

"Don't forget that I _could_ be considered a fashion icon," TK tapped Mimi's hat.

"Think what you want," she laughed. "But you just got lucky there. If this hat looked bad on me, I would have to do something to you."

"Oh yeah?" TK leaned in against the door. "Tell me, what exactly would you do?"

Before Mimi could answer, the door opened and TK bumped into Nicole. "Ooof," Nicole stumbled to the floor.

"Way to go, TK!" Mimi squealed in between laughs.

"Yeah, seriously!" Nicole got up from the floor and smoothed her hair. "Way to go, CJ!"

"Sorry," TK put his hands up in front of him. "Uh, Mimi? I'll see you around," he waved goodbye to her and dashed off.

"Nice one," Mimi shook her head at Nicole. "Why are you so mean to him?"

"Why do you even care? Anyways, I got somewhere I have to be. Move," Nicole rolled her eyes and shoved Mimi out of the way.

Mimi watched as Nicole sauntered down the hallway. There was something about the way Nicole looked that ticked Mimi off, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. _Just a couple more days, just a couple more days_, Mimi grit her teeth.

* * *

"Hi," Joe straightened out his collar. "You look gorgeous."

"You're not looking too bad yourself," Nicole winked.

"Ready?" Joe opened the door for her.

"Definitely," Nicole flashed him a smile.

"Hello, welcome to L'oro Pomodoro," a weary-looking, petite, blonde girl smiled at them. "My name is Zoe and I will be your server tonight. If you need anything, feel free to call me," she led them to a table. She placed some menus and silverware down and walked off.

"That girl looks exhausted," Joe noted.

"She's a waitress. What did you expect?" Nicole snapped.

"Yeah...I guess I wasn't thinking," Joe said sheepishly. He shakily opened up his menu and hid his face behind it.

Nicole looked at him and bit her lip. She reached over to the other side of the table and gently pulled Joe's menu down so she could see his face. "I didn't mean to lash out on you," she said softly. "I'm just a little on edge right now."

"Really?" Joe put his menu down. "I'm a tad nervous myself. You see, I haven't been on a date with someone as pretty as you-I mean, I think I said too much. Just pretend I didn't say a thing," Joe flustered.

"Awww, you're so adorable," Nicole smiled.

"I am?" Joe's face began to turn red.

"Of course you are," she purred. She was reaching over to touch Joe's arm, but a basket of bread plopped down on the table before she had a chance.

"Complementary breadsticks, fresh out of the microwave," the waitress smiled. "Do you guys have an idea what you would like to drink?"

"Can I get a Pelligrino?" Joe asked.

"Mmm hmm," the blonde waitress wrote on a notepad. "And for you miss?"

"I'll have a Yellow Tail pinot noir please," Nicole closed her menu.

"Can I see some ID?" the waitress asked.

"Excuse you?" Nicole snarled. "Can I see some ID? Aren't you a little too young to even serve wine?"

"I'm sorry miss," the waitress trembled. "I have to ask, it's restaurant policy!"

"Fine fine fine," Nicole dug through her purse and fished out her wallet. "Well what do you know? I seem to forgotten my ID!" she said in a fake tone.

"Really? That stinks," the waitress pouted. She looked down at her notepad and flipped through it. "Well, what do you know? We don't offer Yellow Tail wine anyways. So what else what do you want to drink?"

"Do you think you're funny?" Nicole growled.

"No! Why?" the girl's eyes widened in fear. Joe nervously watched the waitress hold her notepad up to her chest.

"Then why are you trying to be smart with me?" Nicole glared at the girl.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!" the waitress stuttered. "I'm super sorry!"

"Okay," Nicole hummed. "I guess I'll just have an espresso."

"Alright," the waitress scribbled on her notepad. "I'll come right back with your drinks."

Joe exhaled deeply when the waitress walked away. "You didn't have to scare the poor girl," he said shakily. "She was only doing her job."

"I guess I have that effect on people," she sighed. "Do you think I'm scary?"

"Of course not," Joe's voice cracked. "You're a bit intimidating, but that's because I'm not used to hanging out with hot girls, I mean...so what about that? They have a baked ziti special? I don't like ziti, but maybe it's special ziti and that's why it's on the special section of the menu. Am I talking too much?" he blabbered.

"A Pelligrino for the dude and a Coke for the chick," a blonde guy placed the drinks on the table.

"I asked for an espresso," Nicole pointed at her drink.

"Well, too bad," the waiter said. "I brought over a Coke and that's what you're getting, cause I'm not going back to the kitchen. Besides, it's almost the same thing."

"What?" Nicole grit her teeth.

"Yeah," the guy shrugged. "They're almost the same color, so yeah...if you want, I can bring you some creamers for your Coke."

"What? You know what? Just forget it, I'll take the Coke," Nicole shooed the waiter away. "What kind of service is this?" she pushed her hair back.

"I don't know," Joe tensed up. "I heard the food was good, but I never heard anything about the service. Seems to me that most of the waiters are teenagers."

"Whatever," Nicole shook her head. "Let's not waste our time worrying about the lousy service. We're here to have a good time, right?"

"That's right," Joe nodded. "So...," he struggled to come up with something to talk about. "Do you go to university?"

"Yeah," Nicole said.

"What's your major?" he asked.

"Uh...I mean I go to universities, but I don't study at them. It's part of my job," Nicole laughed meekly.

"That's right. You're a model or something like that. I forgot," Joe said. They sat awkwardly in silence. Joe fiddled with a breadstick while Nicole picked at the tablecloth.

"So, you're studying to be a doctor?" Nicole stirred the straw in her cup.

"Yeah," Joe pushed up his glasses.

"That's interesting," she said. "What made you want to become a doctor?"

"Well, you see..." Joe began to talk as Nicole's eyes glazed over. "And then... so then I... my family..."

Nicole smiled and nodded while Joe explained the reason behind his future career. _Just keep smiling and pretend to be interested_, she thought to herself. "Huh," she said as she scanned the scenery behind Joe.

"So then my pet turtle died... and my Aunt Gladys. On the same day, which happened to be Christmas," Joe continued to speak.

"That's cool," Nicole said, not listening to Joe's conversation. She was too busy eyeing a redheaded waiter on the other side of the restaurant.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day, the gang met up for breakfast. Even Cody showed up, but that was because he knew Nicole wasn't going to be there. Despite this, Mimi was so anxious, she couldn't eat. First of all, Izzy wasn't going to join along because he told Tai that he had a tutoring session with some kid. She had a feeling that he only used that as an excuse to avoid her. Even though she didn't feel good to begin with, Mimi came along because this was the first time she could spend time alone with her friends. Mimi inhaled deeply and sipped away at her chamomile tea. She looked across the booth at TK, who was happily eating Lucky Charms from a small bowl. _Only he would order cereal at a restaurant,_ Mimi chuckled to herself.

"So, did you make any moves on her?" Tai asked.

_Really?_ Mimi thought. _Even when she's not here, she always manages to be the center of attention!_ She folded a paper napkin into an origami crane as her friends kept talking.

"Not really," Joe sighed. "Not even a hug goodbye."

_That's surprising, _Mimi noted as she listened to the conversation.

"That's really sad," Yolei shook her head. "Even I went to second base with her!"

_Now, that's even more surprising, _Mimi thought to herself as she stirred more honey into her tea. _What the heck is going on here? This just doesn't make any sense!_

"You did?" Ken raised an eyebrow at her. From the expression on his face, Mimi couldn't tell if Ken was annoyed, amused, or a mix of both.

"Okay, okay. It was by accident," Yolei admitted.

"How is something like that an accident?" Kari crinkled her eyebrow.

"When we went clubbing together, I tripped down the stairs and I grabbed the first thing I could...which ended up being Nicole's boobs. I also accidentally motorboated her too, but that was because she backed up and my face landed on her chest. On the bright side, I'm glad to confirm that her boobs are 100 percent real."

"Wow, you're getting more action than me," Matt scoffed.

"Matt!" Sora turned red.

"Well, it's true!" Matt slammed his knife flat on the table. "With a rack like yours, you think you would let others enjoy it more! At least Nicole lets people play with hers!" As soon as he said that, everyone's mouths dropped. A piece of chewed-up waffle fell out of Davis's mouth.

"Matt!" Tai yelled. "Really? Do you want the whole restaurant to hear you?" Mimi watched as Sora crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the table.

"Well, I'm just frustrated," Matt spoke softly. "Wouldn't you be too if your girlfriend won't even let you put your hands up her shirt?" he raised his voice again.

The whole restaurant filled up with the sounds of murmurs and utensils clinking down on plates. _Good thing I didn't get anything to eat_, Mimi shakily picked up her mug. Sora turned even redder and burrowed her face on Tai's shoulder as all the patrons focused their attention on the booth.

"Can't say I have," Yolei awkwardly said.

"But I can totally see where you're getting at," Davis agreed with Matt.

"This isn't an appropriate conversation to have in public! For God's sake, people are trying to eat here!" Cody threw his napkin on his plate in disdain. "You should learn some common courtesy before you decide to go out in public again!" he scolded Matt. "And the rest of you are only encouraging his uncouth behavior by even having a conversation like this in the first place! If we were somewhere more private, then fine, but we're in close vicinity to other people! I knew coming today was a bad idea!" Cody ranted. "This should be enough to cover my meal and some of the tip. I'm leaving," he dropped some money on the table and walked away.

"Wow! What's up his bum? A fencing stick?" Matt snorted.

"He does have a valid point," TK waved his spoon in the air. "It's hard to scoop up the marshmallows when you guys are talking about your...personal business."

"Maybe next time, you should separate the marshmallows from the cereal before you dump them in milk. Everyone knows you don't even eat the cereal part anyways," Matt frowned.

"Uh...," Mimi was feeling even more uncomfortable than before. She couldn't stand to stick around any longer, especially when Matt was in one of his "moods". "I'm gonna go. Besides, I'm gonna be late for my internship," she got up from the booth.

"Hold up," TK said. "I'm going too."

"Just remember, we've got a get-together at my place tonight! Seven PM, okay?" Yolei said.

"Alright," Mimi tapped her head. "I'll totally make it."

"I already told Nicole about it," Yolei said.

"Great," Mimi sighed.

Yolei (or anyone else) didn't seem to see Mimi's lack of enthusiasm, because Yolei kept talking. "She said she might make it, but she's not sure yet. Izzy says he can't come because of work, but you should totally convin-" Tai nudged Yolei and whispered in her ear. "Ohhhh," Yolei nodded. "Uh, never mind! We wouldn't want to hold you up! Now get to your job," she laughed nervously and smiled at Mimi.

"Okay," Mimi waved goodbye to everyone. _Great, how many people know that me and Izzy aren't speaking? The only person I told was TK, but he would never say anything to anyone else. But how does Tai know?_ "I'll see you guys later tonight!" she faked a smile.

"Same here," TK tipped his hat a little and nodded. "Let's go," he put his hat on and he led Mimi out.

"So, why are they not speaking in the first place?" Yolei asked Tai.

"Who's not speaking?" Davis frantically flapped his arms around, trying to catch Yolei's eye.

"Mimi and Izzy," Yolei replied.

"That makes sense," Joe waved his fork around. "I haven't seen them together since the beach."

"But why are they avoiding each other?" Kari asked.

"Probably because Izzy wasn't getting any," Matt crossed his arms.

"Izzy's not like that. He's a nice guy," Sora shook her head.

"So what are you trying to say?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Ahem!" Tai slammed his fist on the table to get everyone's attention. "From what Izzy said, Mimi was overreacting about something. They both said some harsh words, and since then he's been avoiding her."

"But why would he do something like that?" Ken asked. "Something doesn't sound right."

"He's waiting for Mimi to calm down a bit before he apologizes to her," Tai said. "He feels bad about the whole thing, but he doesn't want to piss her off even more than he already has."

"Wow, someone's got the 411!" Davis remarked.

"She did seem stressed out the last time we saw her," Kari said. "But she doesn't look that mad anymore."

"Well, he better hurry up and talk to her soon," Sora poked at her pancakes. "If he keeps stalling, I don't think their relationship is going to last for much longer."

"Yeah," Matt said. "You should practice what you preach, so quit stalling and let me grab your boobs!"

"Matt!" Sora gasped.

"I'm out of here," Tai shook his head. "Come on, Sora," he took her hand and they left.

"Same here," Kari pushed her plate back. "I'm stuffed."

"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Davis dropped his fork and chased after Kari.

"I would lie and say I'm full, but in actuality, I just lost my appetite," Joe said before he hopped off the booth.

"Yeah. What Joe said," Ken jerked his thumb at him. "I don't think I'll be able to drink milk for a while," Ken shook his head and walked out.

"So yeah," Yolei patted Matt's head. "Thanks for breakfast! See ya tonight!" she dashed off.

Matt sat by himself and looked around the now-empty booth. The waitress walked by and dropped a slip of paper down on the table. "Aw! Come on! They stuck me with the bill?" Matt exclaimed.

"Serves him right! Hooligan teenagers," an elderly man grumbled as he read his newspaper.

* * *

"Thanks, but you didn't have to follow me all the way to my job," Mimi said.

"I wasn't following you just for the heck of it. It was on the way to my mom's," TK shrugged.

"Oh," Mimi's voice fell. She forgot that TK went to visit his mom a couple times a week at a rehabilitation center. The fact that TK was never comfortable talking about it made her feel bad. "I'm so-" she tried to apologize.

"Don't be," he interrupted and shook his head. "It's okay," he turned his face to the side. Even though he had his back to her, Mimi could tell that he was trying to hide the expression on his face. "I'll see you later at Yolei's," his voice squeaked. "Have a good day at work," he said before he ran off.

"Take it easy," she sighed as she watched TK run out of the building.

* * *

"Izumi! Some hot broad's here to see you!"

"That's not funny, Jason!" Zoe, the blonde waitress, screamed. "For the last time, Koji's not a girl!"

"Please, I wasn't talking to you," Jason pushed past her. "I was talking to the other Izumi. Yo, Izzy!" he walked to the bar in the back of the restaurant.

"Huh?" Izzy dried off a wine glass and placed it on a counter. "What's going on?"

"You've got a special visitor," Jason winked at him. "Want me to bring her in?"

"Sure," Izzy shrugged._ I hope Mimi's not mad anymore,_ he breathed in deeply. He picked up another wet wine glass and began to polish it.

"Hello," a sultry voice said, which startled Izzy. He lost his balance, lost his grip on the wine glass, and fell backwards into the beer taps. Izzy watched the glass shatter to the floor, all while getting drenched in beer.

"Crap! The tap's stuck again," Izzy groaned.

"That's coming out of your paycheck!" a man in the back yelled.

"Yes, Mr. Orimoto!" Izzy replied back. He picked himself up off from the floor and then looked back at his visitor, who was tapping her fingers against the wooden counter. "What are you doing here?" he asked, still stunned.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"What are you doing here?" Izzy walked backwards to the beer taps and shut them off.

"I just came by for a visit," Nicole leaned forward on the counter.

"That's nice, but I'm on my shift," Izzy said. "We have to open up in a little while."

"Awww," Nicole pouted. "So does that mean you're not going to Yolei's party?"

"Sorry, but I can't make it," Izzy shrugged.

"That stinks," Nicole grabbed Izzy by the wrist and began stroking his forearm.

"Uhhh, what are you doing?" Izzy pulled back.

"I was really hoping you would make it. Your friends haven't seen you in a while, and neither have I," Nicole batted her eyelashes. "It really is such a bummer."

"I know, but I have to work tonight," Izzy sighed. "And I have to change into something cleaner too," he stepped out of the bar.

"Why?" Nicole walked up to him and stroked his chest. "I think Nakasawa suits you well," she purred, tugging on his tie.

"Uh," Izzy blushed. "I smell like beer. You might think it smells good, but I'm pretty sure the customers would beg to differ."

"I guess. After all, the customer is always right," Nicole let go of his tie. "Well, if you have to change, why don't you stop by Yolei's then?"

"I can't," Izzy shook his head. "Besides, I have a spare uniform in my briefcase."

"Come on," Nicole pulled his arm. "Is this just an excuse to avoid Mimi?"

"What?" Izzy exclaimed.

"Yeah, all your friends are talking about it. Supposedly you and Mimi are mad at each other," Nicole said innocently. "Is that true? Are you mad at Mimi?"

"I'm not mad at her," Izzy said. "Did she say anything about me?"

"No, not really...," Nicole tapped her chin. "I mentioned your name a couple of times, but she would either say 'What an asshole!' or 'Good thing we're through!"

"What?" Izzy's voice dropped. "She thinks we're over?"

"I don't know," Nicole shrugged. "But if I had to make a guess, I'd say your relationship has gone kaput."

"This can't be true," Izzy shook his head.

"Don't be sad," Nicole put her hand on Izzy's shoulder. "You can always come to me whenever you feel like talking."

"Thanks," Izzy sighed. "I guess I should get to work now. Have a good time at Yolei's."

"Alright. Well, you take it easy mister," she said.

_I can't believe it_, Izzy thought as he changed into a clean uniform. _We broke up and I didn't even know about it? I guess I really didn't know Mimi as well as I thought. Not that it matters, we're not together anymore_.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked him.

"I'm fine," Izzy faked a smile.

"And so is she," Jason grinned as he watched Nicole leave.

"Come on everyone!" Mr. Orimoto whipped a towel on the counter. "Get back to work!"

"Yes Dad," Zoe huffed.

_This is going to be one long shift_, Izzy sighed.

* * *

"Come on, guys! Let's have some fun!" Yolei jumped on the couch.

"But we are having fun," Tai pointed to the TV. "They're playing a House marathon."

"No! You guys can watch TV another time!" Yolei picked up the remote control and shut the TV off.

"Hey! We were watching that!" Joe yelled. "Besides, it's like off-campus education! You know I'm studying to be a doctor!"

"How about we play a game?" Nicole said.

"Aren't we too old for stupid games?" Davis made a face.

"A game does sound fun though," Yolei said.

"This game will be fun!" Nicole slapped Davis on his bum. "Everyone sit in a circle!"

_Oh boy_, Mimi's stomach turned into knots._ I wonder what tricks she has up her sleeve_.

"Okay, we're gonna play Never Have I Ever," Nicole clapped her hands in delight.

"I never heard of that," Kari said. "How do you play?"

"Isn't that a drinking game?" Sora asked.

"It doesn't have to be," Nicole said. "Okay, so we all sit in a circle and hold your fingers up," she held up her hands, fingers pointing toward the ceiling. "Someone starts the game and they say 'Never have I ever...' blah blah, and it has to be a true statement. If you've done whatever the person says, you have to put one finger down. That means you lost a point. If you lose all your points, you're out of the game. The game ends when there's one person left standing."

"Right...," Ken shook his head.

"Here, I'll give you an example. Never have I ever watched Star Wars," Nicole said. "I really haven't watched Star Wars, so it's true. If you guys have watched Star Wars, then you have to put one finger down."

"Okay, so that means we lost a point, right?" Joe said.

"Yup," Nicole nodded. "Are we ready to play?"

"Yep," Yolei nodded. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

_Great_, Mimi groaned. _Somehow I feel like she's up to something_.

"Who wants to start first?" Nicole said.

"You should go first," Sora said.

"Okay," Nicole smiled. "Never have I ever dyed my hair."

Everyone looked over at Mimi. "What?" Mimi looked nervous.

"You've dyed your hair, so that means you have to put one finger down," Ken said.

"Oh. Right," Mimi said.

"Next," Nicole pointed to TK, who was sitting next to her.

"Uh...never have I ever shoplifted?" TK said. As he said that, Davis, Matt, and Nicole put one finger down.

"What? You've guys shoplifted before?" Kari's mouth dropped.

"Kinda," Davis blushed. "I was little back then...and really hungry! Those gummy worms were calling my name!"

"Okay, let's move on!" Nicole yelled. "Sora?"

"Ummm..." she tapped her finger on her chin. "Never have I ever worn high heels." Nicole, Kari, Yolei, Mimi, and TK put their fingers down.

"TK?" Matt looked at his little brother. "You know, never mind...I'm not going to ask."

"Never have I ever kissed a girl," Joe frowned. Tai, Matt, Nicole, TK, and Ken put their fingers down.

"Wow, Davis. I'm so sorry," Tai walked up to Davis and patted him on the shoulder. "Are you saying you're on the same level as Joe?"

"Hey!" Joe yelled.

"Don't you think this is getting too personal?" Davis laughed nervously.

"He's right," Kari played with her ear.

"I think it's time to quit," Mimi agreed.

"Ugh, fine!" Nicole got up from the floor.

"Yay! Back to TV time!" Davis grabbed the remote and jumped on the couch.

"You guys are no fun," Nicole crossed her arms.

"Tell me about it," Yolei huffed. "Wanna hang in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Nicole shrugged.

"I'll hang out with you guys too!" Matt ran with them.

"Why did he sound so excited?" Kari looked confused. "He acts like someone's handing out free tickets for a White Stripes concert.

"I can think of two reasons why," Tai winked.

"Tai!" Ken elbowed him.

"What? I bet you were thinking the same thing!" Tai said.

"Somehow I feel like this is going to lead to an uncomfortable conversation," Kari shook her head and walked to the couch.

* * *

"What a relief," TK sighed. "I didn't feel like playing that game anymore."

"Why?" Mimi smirked. "Are you hiding something?"

"No," TK began to turn red. "It's just that...uh..."

"Mmm hmm," Mimi raised an eyebrow.

"It's awkward. Just think of it this way. There are some things that should be kept a secret. Like there are some things I don't want to know about other people. You just can't see them in the same light anymore, you know?"

"Right, Mr. High Heels," Mimi giggled.

"Hey," TK said. "My mom paid me to stretch out her shoes!"

"Okay, sure!" Mimi winked.

"Hey guys," Sora put her arms around TK and Mimi. "I gotta go. I can't find Matt, so if you see him, tell him I said bye," Sora said.

"Will do," TK nodded.

"Leaving so soon?" Tai asked.

"Yeah," Sora sighed. "I promised my mom that I'd take her out for dinner."

"That's nice," Mimi smiled.

"I just gotta get my purse out," Sora pointed to the closet.

"I'll get it for you," Mimi opened the door to see Matt and Nicole kissing without any shirts on. "Oh my god!" she shrieked.

"What's wrong?" TK dashed over to her, with Sora and Tai following suit. "Heh heh. Hey guys...I didn't expect you guys to come so soon," Matt blushed. Nicole cleared her throat, pushed Matt off of her, and put her tank top on.

"Excuse me," Sora reached over to the hangers and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said to Matt. "Bye everyone," she waved to Tai, Mimi and TK before she calmly left the apartment.

"Wait!" Tai chased after her. "Hold up!"

"Hmmm...Sora seems to be taking it pretty well," Nicole shrugged as tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"How could you?" Mimi looked at Matt and Nicole. His face and chest was covered in red lipstick smudges.

"Uh... I fell in the closet and accidently let my lips land on Nicole's?" Matt picked his shirt up from the floor.

"That is the biggest bullshit of a lie I've ever heard! By the way, Sora wanted me to tell you that she said bye," TK said before he slammed the closet door shut.

* * *

"Awww, that's nice," Kari said as she helped mix up the cookie dough.

"Yeah," Mimi said. "I thought I should make up with him already...even though he was wrong."

"Oh Mimi," Kari shook her head and laughed. "What did you guys fight about in the first place?"

"It wasn't a big deal," Mimi took out a rolling pin from a cabinet. Mimi flashed back to the night before. Mimi, TK, Sora and Tai were the only people who saw Matt and Nicole hooking up in the closet. She wanted to tell Kari about it, but she felt like she had any reason to mention anything. Besides, there was a chance that Tai might tell Kari anyways.

"You guys bicker about small things all the time," Kari said. "It has to be more serious than that. You guys haven't spoken in days. From what I've heard, Izzy's been avoiding you because he thinks you're really mad at him."

"Really?" Mimi placed the rolling pin on the countertop. "Who told you that?"

"Tai, but I didn't say anything," Kari pretended to zipper her lips shut. "He told Tai that he thinks you don't want to see his face again."

"Oh god," Mimi rubbed her temples. "I really need to do some serious damage control. I miss being with Izzy, I don't want to lose him for good."

"Don't worry," Kari patted her on the back. "That's not going to happen."

"Hey," Nicole entered the kitchen. "What are you guys doing?"

"Making cookies," Kari pointed to the cooling rack. "Want one?"

"Sure," Nicole shrugged and picked up a cookie. "Pfft! That's disgusting!" she spit the cookie out.

"What's wrong?" Mimi's eyes widened.

"They taste fine to me," Kari munched on a cookie.

"They're red velvet!" Nicole took a napkin and wiped her tongue with it.

"What did you expect? They're _red,_" Mimi pointed to the batch of cookies.

"I thought they were strawberry cookies," Nicole said.

"What?" Kari crinkled her eyebrow. "Is there even such thing as that?"

"Just ignore her," Mimi sighed.

"Fine! Be mean," Nicole looked at her nails. "I was just about to leave anyways."

"Where are you going?" Mimi asked.

"Gosh! Why are you acting like my mom?" Nicole huffed. "If you want to know so badly, I was just going to check out the neighborhood with Yolei."

"Okay," Mimi said.

"I'll see you around, Kari!" Nicole waved to her.

"Bye," Kari waved back. "Have fun!"

"I will," Nicole winked.

When Nicole left, Kari turned over to Mimi. "Is Nicole always this obnoxiously mean?"

"You have no idea," Mimi sighed. "Okay, let's get back to making cookies."

"Making delicious cookies," Kari smiled as she took a bite out of another cookie.

* * *

_Later that night.._.

"Is Izzy here?"

"Hey you," Jeremy said. "Come on in. He's in his room."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Mimi nervously clutched on to the Tupperware containing the cookies. _I hope everything turns out okay_, she took a deep breath in and grabbed onto the metal pole. She couldn't stand the past couple of days because she was always feeling anxious, especially now. The closer the train got to the university, the more Mimi's stomach turned into knots. _I can't wait till Nicole leaves. Maybe then everything can be fixed and I can finally relax._

"Hey, miss!" an attractive guy tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Mimi looked back at him.

"Just wanted to let you know you dropped your wallet," he held up a pink polka-dotted wallet and handed it to her.

"Oh my god!" Mimi gasped. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. I mean, if I were anyone else, I would have taken it. Lucky for you, pink polka dots don't go with my outfit. I couldn't pull it off like you can," the guy joked.

"You're funny," Mimi cracked a small smile.

"Thanks. I get that a lot, you know," the guy smiled.

"_The Red Line has arrived at the Central Uptown Station. Available stops include Transfer to the eastbound Blue Line train. Please move away from the gliding doors and watch your step_," the intercom said before the train stopped.

"The one time I run into a pretty girl like you, I finally make it to my stop. I wish I could stay and chat, but I can't afford to miss my train again. I'm late enough as it is," he checked his watch and frowned. "Nice talking to you, take it easy!" the guy flashed her a peace sign and hopped off the train.

"You too!" Mimi smiled and shook her head. _Gotta love the subway._

* * *

"Is Izzy here?"

"Hey you," Jeremy grinned. "Come on in. Izzy's in his room," he pointed to the hallway.

"Thanks."

"Hot damn!" Jeremy whispered as he watched her walk down the hallway and open the door to Izzy's room.

"Nicole!" Izzy jumped up from his computer chair. "What are you doing here?! And why are you wearing a trench coat?! We're in the middle of summer!"

"Normally people say 'hello' when someone drops by for a visit," Nicole closed the door and walked over to him. "Then they ask questions later", she said as she slid her hands up his chest and coyly tugged on the collar of his shirt.

"P-p-p-please get off of m-m-me," Izzy stuttered and tried to wriggle his way out of the corner. He didn't want to lay a hand on Nicole, but he didn't want her pushed up against him.

"Oh, I see how you like it," Nicole whispered in his ear and stepped back. "So you want to know why I'm wearing this coat?"

"Uh..." Izzy hesitated to reply. "Why?"

"Because I have a little surprise for you," Nicole played with the buttons on her jacket. "I hope you like it."

_Oh lord_, Izzy watched as the coat fell down to the ground.

* * *

"This is it," Mimi looked around at the dimly-lit quad. She wanted to forget the way to Izzy's dorm, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," she sighed as she walked to his place. She knocked on the door and exhaled.

"Hey you," Jeremy opened the door and winked at her.

"Hey Jeremy," Mimi smiled. "I've stopped by so many times, and you still don't know my name?"

"That's right. You come here all the time, and you still don't know that I greet everyone with 'Hey you'?" Jeremy smirked. "Hey, are those cookies?" he pointed to the container in Mimi's hand.

"Yep," Mimi nodded.

"Izzy's one lucky guy," Jeremy said. "He's in his room if you wanna come inside."

"Thanks," Mimi stepped inside the dorm. She wiggled the doorknob to his room and was stunned to see what was on the other side of the door. "Nicole? Izzy?" Mimi's eyes widened at the scene of the crime. Izzy was lying in his bed only in his boxers. Nicole was straddling on him what appeared to be in a Kazemon costume minus the wings, pant legs, or gloves. _I guess I know where the clothes went_, Mimi glanced at the floor in disdain.

"It's not what it looks like!" Izzy screamed. "Honestly!"

"Yep. It's even better!" Nicole stroked Izzy's cheek and then looked up to smirk at Mimi.

"I don't want to hear it," Mimi glared at them. "I'm not surprised by you, Nicole," her eyes began to water. "But I expected more from you, Izzy."

"Mimi! No!" Izzy struggled to move underneath Nicole's weight.

"I don't want to hear it," Mimi shook her head and opened the door.

"Don't leave!" Izzy yelled.

"Yeah. Stay around," Nicole flashed her an evil grin. "You wouldn't want to miss out on this show!"

"I'm out of here," Mimi bit her lip and walked out of Izzy's room.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked as she passed through the living room.

"Yeah," Mimi sniffled. "Those darn allergies. That pollen really gets to me, ya know?"

"No. I don't get allergies," Jeremy shook his head.

"Oh, here," Mimi handed him the Tupperware.

"Are you for real?" Jeremy's eyes flickered.

"Yeah," Mimi faked a smile.

"Sweet! Red velvet's my favorite!" Jeremy excitedly popped the lid off and stuffed a whole cookie in his mouth.

"I'll see you around," Mimi meekly waved at him and stepped out of the door. She delicately closed the door behind her and ran.

* * *

"Don't go!" Izzy called out, but Mimi was already gone. He rolled over to the side and fell off his bed, causing Nicole to tumble down with him. She sat up and watched Izzy get up from the floor.

"Please leave," he said sternly, pointing to the door.

"Huh?" Nicole was surprised by how authoritative Izzy sounded. She tried looking in his eyes for an answer, but his black, cryptic eyes didn't reveal anything.

"Please leave," Izzy repeated. "Tai told me what you did with Matt last night. I should have listened to Mimi all along."

"What did she say about me?" Nicole snarled.

"Look, there's no doubt that you're a beautiful girl on the outside, but not so much on the inside."

"Are you calling me ugly?" she got defensive.

"The way you act is ugly. You just love to make people's lives a living hell, don't you?" Izzy stared down at her. When she didn't respond, he kept talking. "Just so you know, making people miserable doesn't make you any more happier. Can you prove that to be wrong?"

Nicole stood quiet and avoided eye contact with him.

"Please. Just get out of here," Izzy picked up her trench coat and held it up to her.

She looked back at Izzy and glared at him. "Fine. I'll leave," she snatched up her trench coat and sauntered out of the room.

"Hey Izz!" Jeremy peeked into his room and smiled mischievously at the mess. "Hot damn! What happened here?"

"I really don't want to talk about it," Izzy sighed.

"You're so modest," Jeremy said. "If I had sexy broads wanting me, I'd sure as hell tell everyone about it. You're the man!"

"I'm going to clean up," Izzy grabbed a towel and some clothes.

"Cold shower?" Jeremy winked. "Anyways, just wanted to let you know I'm headed to band practice, so try not to miss me so much. Smell ya later!"

Izzy looked at the mirror and shook his head. Lipstick marks were smeared all over him. _I have to find her._

* * *

Mimi ran until she found a bench. She didn't care that she was crying in the middle of the quad, that her face was getting blotchy, or that a couple of people were giving her looks, or that she was getting drenched from the downpour. All she wanted to do was cry until she ran out of tears.

"Mimi?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Mimi?"

"TK?" Mimi looked up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to drop off Matt's amp. Now what are you doing here sitting in the rain?" TK asked. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," Mimi burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," TK sat on the bench and hugged her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," Mimi sobbed.

"Come on. Let's go to Matt's dorm. We can stay there to dry off," he took off his hoodie and wrapped Mimi up in it.

"Thanks," she said softly as he lead her to Matt's suite.

"Here we are," TK opened the door to a mostly empty dorm.

"Wow, Matt's roommates must be pretty clean people," Mimi noted.

"He doesn't have roommates. He requested he get his own dorm suite, although he doesn't even stay on campus," TK rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if this rock-star fame is getting to his head. I used to look up to him, but now he's just someone I don't want to be like. Especially with what happened last night. I can't believe Sora would even put up with him after that."

"So she forgave him? Just like that?" Mimi snapped her fingers.

"Seems so. And that wasn't the first time he's pulled something like that," TK climbed up and sat on the kitchen counter.

"Really? Sora's never mentioned any of that to me. And we tell each other almost everything," Mimi hoisted herself up and sat next to TK.

"That's because she doesn't know," TK sighed. "No one else knows, except for me. I would tell her, but chances are she would think I'm just making up rumors."

"Why would she think that?"

"I might have hinted that she and Tai would be a good couple. Maybe more than hinted," TK laughed nervously. "Tai has known her longer, so he pretty much can tell what she's thinking. Even though Sora chose Matt over him, he's never taken it out of Matt and Tai's always there for Sora. If that's not real love, then I don't know what is."

"Right," Mimi nodded.

"Sorry for the rant," TK said. "So what were you doing sitting in the rain?"

"I went to visit Izzy," Mimi sighed. "A-a-a-nd..."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset," TK put his hand on Mimi's shoulder. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No," Mimi said. "I need to tell someone. Just promise that you won't judge me until you listen to the whole story."

"Why would I do that?" TK looked shocked.

"Because it seems like everyone else has," Mimi looked down on the ground.

"I'm listening," TK said. "What's wrong?"

"Well, ever since Nicky came to visit, she's made my life a living hell. She criticizes and embarrasses me in front of everyone, she acts soooo friendly to people and manages to make me look like the bad guy. Nobody seems to believe how horrible Nicky is, except for Cody, and he's been avoiding us unless Nicole isn't around."

"I had my suspicions about her too," TK said.

"You did?" Mimi looked at him.

"Yeah," TK smirked. "I already had this bad feeling about her, and when I noticed that you weren't being your usual self, I knew something was up."

"Really?"

"Mmm hmm," TK nodded. "When we hung out with friends, you would always be the first one to leave and I went with you, just in case you needed a friend around."

"Thanks TK," Mimi leaned up against him and hugged his arm.

"No problem," TK petted her hair.

"You know what?" Mimi murmured.

"What?" TK asked.

"I probably could put up with Nicky's behavior. I've handled it as a kid but...you know what makes this time different? What hurt me the most?" Mimi said.

_*Buzz buzz buzz*_

"I think your phone's ringing," TK pointed to her pocket.

"Speaking of the devil," Mimi glanced at her phone and ignored the call.

"Who was that?" TK asked.

"Izzy," she shook her head. "I tried to tell him about Nicole, and he totally brushed me off. My own freaking boyfriend, well...ex-boyfriend, wouldn't even listen to me! He just said I was being a drama qu-,"

_*Buzz buzz buzz*_ her cell phone vibrated against the kitchen counter.

"Ugh, it's Izzy again," Mimi rolled her eyes and pressed the ignore button.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to him?" TK pointed at her phone.

"Positive. I'm not going to waste my time listening to fake apologies, just so he can do the same thing behind my back and expect me to forgive him," Mimi crossed her arms. "Especially after what he did tonight."

_*Buzz buzz buzz*_

"If I didn't answer the first couple of times, what makes him think I'll answer the millionth time around?" Mimi picked up her phone and shut it off.

"What exactly happened tonight?" TK flashed her a quizzical look.

"I decided to surprise Izzy by going to his dorm, but when I walked into his room..." Mimi gripped her knees. "I saw him hooking up with Nicole!" she blurted.

"Mimi," TK sighed.

"I guess we were over. It would have been nice to know that before I made a fool out of myself."

"The only fool was Izzy," TK picked up Mimi's chin. "For such a smart guy, he sure could make some stupid mistakes. What kind of guy wouldn't want to be with you? You're funny...sweet...down to earth...beautiful," TK inched closer to her face and gave her a quick peck on the lips. That quick kiss turned into a couple of short, sweet ones and gradually became longer, steamier, more passionate.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Tachikawa's eyes widened from Izzy's appearance.

"Not that we don't want you here," Mrs. Tachikawa peeked in from the doorway. "But what's wrong? You're completely wet!"

"Have you guys seen Mimi?" Izzy asked.

"I thought she was going to see you," Mr. Tachikawa crossed his arms and gave him a stern look.

"Honey, stop it," Mrs. Tachikawa rubbed her husband's shoulders. "It's not like his fault he can't find Mimi."

_It is my fault_, Izzy thought. _She wouldn't have ran off if she didn't see Nicole on top of me, and Nicole definitely wouldn't have been on top of me if I just believed Mimi in the first place!_

"Izzy? Are you okay?" Mrs. Tachikawa said. "Want to come inside?"

"I'm fine," Izzy shook his head. "She probably stopped by Kari's or Sora's. I'm sorry for disturbing you," he bowed to them. "Good night."

"Good night to you too," Mrs. Tachikawa waved to him. Mr. Tachikawa only eyed Izzy suspiciously.

Izzy sprinted down the hallway and took the elevator to the main floor. He pulled out his phone and dialed Mimi's number. After a couple of rings, the phone picked up.

"_Hey_!" Mimi said.

"You sound happ-" Izzy said, cut off by Mimi.

"_Just kidding! I'm not available right now, but if you leave a message, I'll get back to you ASAP! Kisses!_" her voicemail recording said.

"Mimi really needs to change that. I fall for it every time," Izzy huffed. He dialed her number again, but her answering machine was the only thing that responded back. _I guess a few more times wouldn't hurt, would it?_ Izzy furiously typed her number into his phone and called again. "You've got to be kidding me!" he hung up and hit his head against a wall. "Okay, okay, just calm down! Who would know where Mimi is?" he paced around the lobby and clutched on to his phone. "Maybe Sora knows!" he clicked his phone on and dialed Sora.

"Hullo?"

"Tai? What are you doing on Sora's phone?" Izzy pulled his phone away from his face and gave it a confused look before he pressed it against his ear again.

"Who's that?" a groggy Sora said in the background.

"Izzy," Tai whispered.

"Hello!" Izzy yelled through his phone. "Do any of you guys know where Mimi is?"

"Nope," Tai responded. "Sora hasn't seen her either. Hold up, Sora wants to talk to you."

"Okay," Izzy waited until Sora got on the phone.

"Izzy. What's going on?" he could hear the concern in Sora's voice.

"Mimi's missing!" Izzy said frantically.

"Well, I have no idea where she could be but I think Kari would know. Call her. Hopefully Mimi's okay," Sora said.

"Thanks for the help. Good night," Izzy said.

"Night. Take it easy," Sora yawned before she hung up.

"This is great," Izzy mumbled as he flipped through his contacts list. "Kari?"

"Hey Izzy," she said. "What's up?"

"Do you know where Mimi is? Sora said you would know," Izzy brushed his spare hand through his hair.

"I thought she would have been with you," Kari said.

"Well, she was but...," Izzy tugged at his hair.

"But what?" Kari said sternly.

"Funny story," Izzy laughed nervously.

"It doesn't sound like it."

"Okay, it's not! I didn't know that Mimi was stopping by to see me-"

"What did you do?" Kari huffed.

"She walked in on Nicole and I-" Izzy was cut off yet again.

"I would have never expected you to be such a pig! And with Nicky? How could you?!" Kari scolded.

"Nonononono! It wasn't like that!" Izzy said defensively.

"There goes that infamous lie all cheating bastards use. Whatever you did to make Mimi upset...It serves you right if you can't find her. In my opinion, you deserve it!" and like that, Kari abruptly hung up.

"B-b-b-but," Izzy stared at his phone in shock. Kari was never one to yell at somebody, so it made Izzy feel even worse that she would react to him like that. Looking through his contact list, Izzy was trying to find someone to call next.

* * *

"I'm so sorry," TK blushed. "I didn't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay," Mimi smiled. "After all, I did kiss you back."

"But that doesn't stop me from feeling guilty," TK hopped off the kitchen counter. "I-I-I," he got flustered. "I feel like I betrayed Izzy. I kissed his girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend," Mimi corrected. "You didn't do anything wrong. I mean, he pretty much broke up with me without letting me know."

"Doesn't matter. I think I just made things more complicated for the two of you," TK looked down at his shoes.

_*Ring ring ring*_

"I thought I turned my phone off!" Mimi said.

"No, it's mine," TK held up a flip phone and answered it. "Izzy? Yeah, she's with me, why? I heard what you did. Yeah, word travels fast, doesn't it? Fine, I'm in Matt's dorm. See you then."

"Izzy called?" Mimi looked at TK.

"Yeah. He sounded pretty worried about you. He said he would be here in fifteen minutes," TK sighed.

"Well, I don't want to see him!" Mimi crossed her arms and turned her nose up in the air.

"You should talk to him," TK said. "You guys need to clear things up with each other."

"I guess you're right," Mimi grudgingly said. "But I'm afraid. I don't know what to expect."

"It'll be okay," TK reached for her hand. "I'll be here."

"Thanks," Mimi squeezed his hand back.

_*Tap tap*_

"That's probably Izzy," TK motioned to the door and opened it.

"TK," Izzy exhaled and reached for TK's shoulder.

"No offense, but don't touch me," TK stepped back. "You're wet."

"Sorry," Izzy panted. "Where's Mimi?"

"Over there," TK led him to the kitchen.

"Thanks," Izzy nervously said, looking at an angry Mimi. "Uh TK? Can we get a moment alone?"

"No," TK shook his head. "Not until I do this," he walked up to Mimi, pulled her close, and kissed her. "Got that out of my system." Mimi blushed and touched her lips.

"What the hell?!" Izzy's jaw dropped. "Did you just-"

"Yeah...I'll leave you guys to talk now," TK flashed a peace sign and walked into a room.

"Mimi?" Izzy had a painful look on his face.

"Izzy," she said coldly, turning her back to him.

"Uh," Izzy froze up. "I'm sorry."

"Sure you are," Mimi said sarcastically.

Izzy rubbed his chin and took a deep breath. "I am," he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. He massaged it and gently squeezed it.

_God, I miss his touch,_ Mimi smiled. _No, stay strong! Don't let him know,_ she bit her lip and stared at the wall in front of her.

"I'm sorry. About everything," Izzy exhaled. "I should have trusted you and taken you seriously from the start. I didn't listen to everything you had to say, and that was wrong of me. I'm supposed to be a good boyfriend, supportive of you, and I failed. I don't blame you for being mad at me. Heck, I'm mad at myself. I thought you were just being catty and dramatic, but I should have know better. You're not like that at all. I didn't see Nicole's true colors until now, even though you tried to warn me. Trust me, I didn't want anything to do with her after I heard about what she did last night. I didn't expect her to come over tonight and basically ambush me."

"Okay," Mimi angrily turned around to face Izzy. "Can I leave now?"

"Not until you hear this," he said. "I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am. If you decide to end things with me, I understand. I deserve every bit of it. Goodbye, Mimi. Hopefully I'll see you again soon," he let go of her shoulder and walked out.

"Hmm," Mimi leaned against the kitchen counter. She crossed her arms and pensively stared at the door.

"Mimi?" TK peered into the kitchen.

"Yeah?" she looked at him.

"I heard the whole thing," he said. "I think he was truly being honest."

"You think?" Mimi said. "I just don't know what to believe anymore."

"Do you still love him?" TK asked.

"I do," Mimi sighed. "But I don't want us to be like Matt and Sora."

"You're not going to be. It took Izzy a lot of guts to come here and apologize to you, despite the fact that you were extremely upset with him. Not many guys would do that. I have to admit, if I were in a situation like that, I would have to love the girl a lot to do what Izzy did."

"I guess you have a point," Mimi mumbled.

"What do you mean you guess? You know I have a point," TK smirked. "Now go out there, and run after him," he led her to the door.

"Before I go," Mimi said. "Thank you for being there for me. And just know I'll always be there for you too." She caressed TK's face and gave him a sweet, tender kiss.

"Thanks Mimi," he blushed and cleared his throat. "Go get him now. What are you waiting for?"

"Right," Mimi nodded. She jiggled the doorknob and ran out of the dorm.

TK leaned against the door frame, watching Mimi run off. "Good luck Mimi," he said softly.

* * *

"Mimi! What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Mimi wrapped her arms around him. "I should have known you were being honest. I guess I was just afraid."

"Afraid?" Izzy gave her a concerned look. "Of what?"

"I don't know," Mimi said sheepishly. "I was afraid that I would lose you. I felt like I was losing everyone around me, and I didn't want to lose you too. If it weren't for TK, I don't know what I could have done."

"Hmm," Izzy eyed her suspiciously. "Really?"

"Yes," Mimi tugged at his arm. "He was the one who convinced me to go after you."

"I'll have to thank him for that," Izzy said. He brushed Mimi's hair to the side and went in for a kiss.

* * *

After an hour long make-out fest, Mimi returned home.

"Mimi!" her mother rushed over to her and hugged her. "Thank god you're here!"

"Dad, what's going on here?" Mimi called out.

"We all thought you went missing," he walked up to her and patted her on the head. "It's a good thing you're safe and sound."

"I was going to call the police and the army and the-,"

"Honey, let go of her," Mr. Tachikawa gently pulled his wife away from his daughter.

"I'm going to get ready for bed," Mimi yawned.

"Okay princess," Mr. Tachikawa said.

"I'm just so happy you're here!" Mrs. Tachikawa gushed.

"Come on," Mr. Tachikawa ushered her to the living room. "Let Mimi be."

Mimi walked into her room, surprised to find it neat and organized. Since Nicole stayed, Mimi's room became messy and cluttered with junk. This time, the bed was made, clothes were put away, and her vanity was cleaned up, except for a folded piece of pink paper. She walked over to it and opened it. Inside the letter was the word "Sorry" written in red lipstick.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Mimi held up the piece of paper and stared at it, completely dumbstruck. Her confusion gradually turned into aggravation and she crumpled up the note. "Seriously?! After all the hell you put me through, and you don't even bother to apologize to me in person?!"

"Honey? Who are you talking to?" Mrs. Tachikawa called from the living room.

"Nobody," Mimi peeked out of her room. "Hey Mom, do you know where Nicole went?"

"Yeah, she said she was going to Australia Restaurant or something like that," Mrs. Tachikawa replied.

"Alright," Mimi said. Although Mrs. Tachikawa wasn't too familiar with the name of the place, Mimi knew what she was talking about. For a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Australian Joey's Bar and Grill was a popular hangout for bikers, hipsters, and college kids. "I'm going to meet up with her."

"But it's pretty late, don't you think?" Mr. Tachikawa gave Mimi a quizzical look.

"Well...yeah," Mimi sheepishly said.

"Oh, come on! Nicole's already out, it's only fair that Mimi go out to hang out with her, right?" Mrs. Tachikawa gently slapped her husband on his arm.

"Okay, okay," Mr. Tachikawa huffed. "Look, I want you and Nicole back at midnight. No questions, no arguing, what I say goes."

"Thank you, daddy," Mimi nodded her head. She went back to her room, grabbed her purse and keys, and left the apartment.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't serve me beer?!" Nicole yelled at the bartender.

"I'm sorry, but you're underage," the bartender shook.

"Don't you know who I am?!" Nicole slammed her fist on the bar.

"Yes. You're Miss May," the bartender said. "You're the hottest girl in the calendar!"

"Exactly," Nicole glared at him. "I model for Nakasawa, so I should drink the beer. How can I model for something when I can't have it? That doesn't make sense, right?"

"I know what you mean," the bartender said. "I needed to make some quick cash not too long ago, so I ended up in a herpes commercial. Sure, I modeled for herpes, but that doesn't mean I have herpes. By the way, I don't have herpes, just in case you were wondering ."

"Uggghhhh! Why are you so stupid?!" Nicole screeched.

"I could recognize that sound anywhere," Mimi snuck up behind Nicole.

"Mimi!" Nicole shrieked.

"We need to talk," Mimi crossed her arms.

"I'd rather not," Nicole forced a smile, slinking off her barstool.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere!" Mimi grabbed Nicole by the wrist. She was taken aback at how forceful she was being, and reading her cousin's face, Mimi could tell that Nicole was also surprised. "We need to talk," Mimi repeated.

"Alright," Nicole wriggled herself out of Mimi's grip. "If you're all aggressive like that, it must be important."

"Good," Mimi said. "Sit down?" she pointed to a booth.

"Sure," Nicole murmured as she sat down.

"Why?" Mimi shook her head. "Why..." she fished through her jacket pocket and pulled out the crumpled note. "This? Huh?"

"Oh, that," Nicole said in embarrassment.

"What kind of nerve do you have to leave this behind?" Mimi opened the note and held it up to her. "Especially after what you did tonight? All of the crap you pulled on me, and this piece of paper is how you want to make things good?"

"Hey, at least I cleaned your room," Nicole joked. She could see the anger in Mimi's eyes and let out an awkward laugh. "Just kidding! But honestly, I did clean your room."

"No time for a stand-up routine, Seinfeld," Mimi said flatly. "What gives? Why?"

"Why what?" Nicole said. "You keep saying why, and I don't know what you want to know."

"Why everything? Why do you always have to cut me down? Why do you try to turn my friends against me? Why, after all of these years, can't we just get along with each other? I don't want to fight or compete with you, yet you still want to make me miserable. What did I ever do to you to make you act like this?" Mimi's voice began to shake.

"You wanna know why?! Why I am the way I am?!" Nicole stood over the table. The bar turned quiet and everyone's attention turned to Nicole. Embarrassed, she slid back down in the booth. "You were better than me," she said.

"What?!" Mimi shrieked. "Please! You're the one who was good at everything! Whether it was softball, math, dance, or getting people to like you, you could do it all! It's like no matter what I did, you always did better and you always had everything."

"Are you kidding me?" Nicole scoffed. "You think I had it good? My life's been falling apart for a long time. My parents were arguing all of the time. I didn't want to be home, but I didn't have anywhere to go. All of my friends were scared of me, and forget about extracurricular activites. I needed to get at least a C- in order to play sports."

"But you were so good in school! I remember you getting A's all the time," Mimi said.

"I just didn't care about school anymore. It's pretty hard to focus when your parents yelling all the time. Then I started causing trouble to the point where the whole school hated me, but I didn't care. I guess my parents got frustrated with me, cause they kicked me out of the house at 16. I needed some place to stay, but I didn't have a job, and no one would give me one because I was still in high school. I started hanging with the wrong crowd, I had to do some terrible things that I won't mention, all in order to survive. It wasn't until I was scouted to be a Nakasawa girl that my life started to get a bit better, but even then it's hard. As much as the Advertisment Department loved me, all of the models hated me and never talked to me. I guess my life has been lonely for as long as I could remember, and I was so jealous of you. I guess the only thing that would make me happy was to wreck your life. You were surrounded by all of this love and I wanted to take it away from you. You have an awesome family, a great group of friends, a boyfriend who really loves you, and a killer bod," she winked.

"A killer bod?" Mimi tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah! You're so skinny and tiny. I used to love dancing until my ballet instrutor kicked me out of her class. In the middle of class, she told everyone to stop what they were doing. She called me out and yelled at me for not being 'lithe', as if I could control my body. Then she said, 'With a body like yours, the only dancing you'll be doing is around a pole. Don't even bother coming to class until you look as graceful as the other girls!' I don't really have a problem with my body, but it would be nice if people would look me in the face and not somewhere else," Nicole laughed.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea," Mimi reached for Nicole's hand. "It's just that your life seemed so perfect. You're pretty, smart, and very charismatic and it made me feel like a pile of crap that I wasn't like you."

"Trust me, you are all the stuff you listed, but you're more than that. You don't try to hurt other people like I do. I loved to make people feel bad about themselves, but after tonight I realized how twisted I was. When I saw your face after you found me on top of Izzy...I just felt like the worst person on earth," Nicole said.

"You didn't look it," Mimi said.

"I was just faking being okay. I guess you get good at it from being a model. I tried to keep cool, but then Izzy opened my eyes to how messed up I was. I treated everyone like my little toys, something I could play around with and not care what happened to them."

"But it's not too late to start over, to have a clean slate," Mimi said.

"I don't know," Nicole rubbed her arm. "I don't see a point in it when everyone hates me."

"I don't hate you," Mimi shook her head.

"You don't? But I did a lot of mean things to you! I'd hate me," Nicole said.

"I don't hate you. I just hated the things you did," Mimi said.

"Thanks," Nicole sighed. "I guess you're right. Tomorrow's gonna be one busy day."

"Why?" Mimi said.

"I've got to do some serious mending. Starting with Sora," Nicole let out a little smile. "Along with packing my stuff."

"Okay! Now how about we have a drink?" Mimi said.

"Don't bother. The herpes bartender won't give us beer," Nicole said.

"Nope, I meant something else," Mimi giggled. "Waiter! Can we get two Shirley Temples?"

"Coming right up! Here you go," the waiter placed the drinks on their table.

"To a new start," Mimi raised her glass.

"To a new start," Nicole smiled and clinked her glass against Mimi's.

* * *

_The next day..._

"How did it go with Sora?" Mimi asked as she watched Nicole pack up her suitcases.

"I was so surprised," Nicole said. "She actually thanked me!"

"What?" Mimi almost fell off her bed.

"Yeah. I know, right?" Nicole said. "She said thanks to me, she saw how Matt's not really committed to her so she ended things with him. I guess it was a little test."

"Wow," Mimi said.

"And then after that, I had lunch with Joe again. This time I asked him out," Nicole said.

"What?" Mimi was shocked.

"Yeah. Let's just say the date went pretty well," Nicole giggled.

"And after that, I met up with Izzy."

"You did what?!" Mimi shrieked.

"Nothing happened, I swear! I just wanted to thank him for giving me a reality check," Nicole said. "You've got yourself a good catch."

"You weren't kidding when you said that today was going to be busy," Mimi laughed.

"I told you so," Nicole zipped up her last suitcase. "I guess that's it," she wiped her forehead. "Time to head out," she piled up her suitcases on top of each other and struggled to pull them out of the room.

"Here, let me help you," Mimi grabbed a couple of suitcases. "Wow, they're heavy! How did you get all of these up to this floor?"

"Some guy offered to take them up for me," Nicole winked.

"You're unbelievable!" Mimi laughed and shook her head.

"I know, right?" Nicole said in a posh accent and flipped her hair. The girls made it to the entrance of the apartment building. "I guess that's my cab," Nicole sadly looked at a black luxury taxi.

"Come back soon," Mimi hugged her. "And keep in touch."

"I will," Nicole said. "Well, this is it. Bye Meems," she waved as she got in the cab.

"Bye Nicky!" she waved back and watched as the car pulled away.

* * *

_A couple of months later..._

"How's Nicky doing?" Kari looked over Mimi's shoulder.

"Here, read for yourself," Mimi got up from the computer chair. Sora and Kari sat down in the seat and read the email.

_Hey Mimi,_

_Things are going pretty well. I'm taking online college courses while I'm busy at work. I'm studying Public Relations, and I'm pretty good at it, if I say so myself. I do need a back-up plan after I'm done modeling. You can only look young for so long ;)_

_How are things going for you? Tell the girls I said hi!_

_Hugs and Kisses,_

_Nicole_


End file.
